I've pretty much already discussed 2017 as far as the music went in both my Year In Review and Top 45 of 2017 posts. It was improvement from last year, but not by much. The domination of rap music continued and while Hits 1 picked up on almost none of them, they were successful on the Billboard Hot 100 likely due to the amount of streaming they get. I don't understand their popularity and why so many people even stream those songs. If I have time sometime soon, I may do a rant it out post where I talk about why I despise MOST of today's rap music. Not all of it because there are some good rappers out there like Kendrick Lamar, Logic, G-Eazy, Macklemore, etc. You get the idea. But then we have rappers like Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, 21 Savage, Migos, Young Thug, Cardi B, Lil Pump, etc. All of them are pretty much talentless and it bothers me that they are more successful than other artists and bands that actually put a lot of work into their music. I'll stop here because this is kind of off-topic. But if I get around to doing a rant it out post about today's rap music, I'll talk about this in more depth.
Like almost all stations, Hits 1 has a Year-End countdown. They count down their Top 45 songs every year. Nothing really changed this time around. There are still several rankings that I felt to be out of place and wrong and the #1 was blatantly obvious. But I really have no say in this even though I think this is based on the Wutchuwant Crew, which I am part of. So I'm just going to roll with this and give my thoughts for each song. I'll be going about this very similar to how I did it last year. Each song will get a ranking from 0 to 5 (with one exception). Then at the end, I will do a large Top 45 Review and it will look very similar to how I do the weekly Top 20 Reviews. These are the different areas with the number of points each song will receive.
- Crap (0 Points)
- Bad (1 Point)
- Mediocre (2 Points)
- Decent (3 Points)
- Good (4 Points)
- Great (5 Points)
And just like last year, each rank will be given a separate to help better distinguish them from each other. It'll essentially be the usual color-code with some changes. Here is the modified color-coding for each of the six ranks.
- Crap: Red
- Bad: Turquoise
- Mediocre: Yellow
- Decent: Pink
- Good: Blue
- Great: Green
If you've read my Top 20 Reviews, you'd know that in 2017 I started giving the final score an extra bonus point if the best song on the countdown appeared in the Top 20. I'll be doing the same here. If the best song of the year appears in this list (which it does), it will be given a score of 6 instead of 5, and that extra point will be a bonus. It doesn't really have much of an effect on a score out of 225, but I'm doing it anyway just for the hell of it.
So with that, I think we're ready to dive into the list. Note that the parenthetical number for each song indicates where the song peaked on the countdown. I will note how many weeks every #1 song spent at the top. Now before we get to this year's Fresh 45, here are last year's Top 5 songs.
5. Twenty One Pilots – Ride
4. Flo Rida – My House
3. Justin Timberlake – Can't Stop The Feeling
2. DNCE – Cake By The Ocean
1. Twenty One Pilots – Stressed Out
And now I present to you the Top 45 songs of 2017 according to SiriusXM Hits 1!
45. Linkin Park – One More Light (#5) [5; Great]
Frankly, I'm surprised this wasn't ranked higher. I've talked about the loss of Chester Bennington quite a few times now. So other than that, the song is really good. Linkin Park has never done anything like this to be the best of my knowledge. And I think it works really well. Chester was the one of the few people who could scream out a heavy song and sing a nice ballad and sound good doing both. I can't think of any other singers capable of that. I can understand to some extent if any Linkin Park fans that are too used to their old sound don't like this song. But I think it's very moving. The lyrics here say a lot and speak for Chester and his situation. I'm glad this was released as a single and that it was successful on Hits 1.
44. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming (#10) [5; Great]
I think this is one of The Weeknd's best songs. There are mainly two different categories for types of songs and I refer to them in slang as "lit" and "chill". A lot of songs usually fall into one of these two categories. Starboy was lit. There's no doubt about that. But I Feel It Coming is actually pretty chill and I like that The Weeknd and Daft Punk produced two completely different types of songs. I think both songs worked out really well, which is why I would love for them to collaborate more often. The production here is simply on point. The Weeknd sounds really good. I like Daft Punk's vocal contributions. I thought this was a fantastic song overall. I ranked it at #3 on my Top 45 songs of 2017 and it was actually my original #1 when I was first brainstorming the list. But after a lot of thought, I bumped it down to #3. I'm glad this was released as a single and that it was successful here. I'm a little surprised that it made it on this list since it wasn't as big as I had hoped. But I'm very glad it did.
43. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor (#7) [5; Great]
I don't have much to say about this one because I feel like it was more relevant in 2016. But it was definitely a favorite of mine when it was brand new. It has a cool vibe to it and I really like the production. Brendon Urie sounds fantastic here (those high notes though) and I think his voice is very fitting for this type of song. I definitely consider this one of the best songs, if not the best song, from Brendon's most recent album of the same title. I'm a little surprised it was as successful as it was since I never exactly pictured this type of song being a hit. But I'm pleased with how well it did.
42. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side (#10) [1; Bad]
I really liked this song when it was first released and I even included it in my Top 45 songs of 2016. But with time, I've come to realize how bland this really is. The production here is not very appealing and I don't think Ariana sounds that good. I don't like the chorus and I'm tired of the way she emphasizes the word "boy". I do think Into You was a better song and I regret ranking Side To Side instead of that song last year. The only thing tolerable about this is Nicki Minaj's verse. Even then, she has definitely sounded better. While I do think this is better than Everyday, it's not that great and I know Ariana can do better.
41. Kesha – Praying (#5) [5; Great]
Kesha has always been a favorite of mine. Her songs were so much fun and they're still very memorable. I occasionally listen to those because they take me back. A couple of years after Warrior, she released a collaboration with Zedd on a remake of True Colors, which I think got very overlooked. It was the last truly good song I heard from Zedd and Kesha sounded fantastic. I love that they brought her for the remake when everyone thought it was her on the original version. But the lyrics to that song really spoke of her situation at the time and it was a gorgeous song that I wished more people knew about. Now in 2017, she brought us Praying, her big comeback. To sum it all up, I love everything about this song. I love the lyrics where (I believe) she speaks of Dr. Luke, a producer she has worked with many times who allegedly sexually assaulted her. She sounds fantastic all throughout the song. This goes out to anyone who thinks she can't sing without autotune. The raw vocals here sound amazing and frankly, it leaves you mesmerized. I love how the song was put together. Everything about it impressed me. I'm glad it was as big of a hit as it was and that it was able to make it on to this list. It ended up ranking at #5 on my Top 45 songs of 2017. Overall, I love this song and I'm very glad to say that Kesha is back.
40. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee/Justin Bieber – Despacito (#3) [5; Great]
This was a very controversial song this past year with it having spent 16 weeks at the top on the Billboard Hot 100. Many love it, but many hate it. There are some that only like the original version, even though I believe the difference is minimal. But I love the song and I don't just say that because of Justin Bieber. The original version is just as good. I have a thing for Latin pop songs like this. I've never listened to anything from Luis Fonsi before. But I've definitely enjoyed some of Daddy Yankee's music in the past. Not surprising to me, he's the best part of the song. Luis Fonsi sounds really good. I like that Justin Bieber contributed to this and even though he has shown that he can't perform this live, it's cool to see him crossing over into the Latin genre, which is something artists have started doing lately (Beyoncé, Demi Lovato, etc.). Even though this song did better than most people wanted, I'm glad we got to have a hit that's not some bland trap song. I like Latin pop and I think we should have more of those types of songs crossing over into mainstream, not all this garbage rap music. Of course this song is basically the Love Yourself of this year because it was in the Top 3 of Billboard's 2016 Year-End chart, but ranked very low here for whatever reason. Hits 1 has a weird way of ranking their music. But overall, great song and I'm glad it was as successful as it was.
39. Maroon 5/Future – Cold (#3) [2; Mediocre]
Unlike the YouTube critics and some people from the blogging community, I don't hate this song. But it shows that the band is losing its sound and uniqueness. They've essentially turned into any present-day pop group, if you can even call them a group. And I don't get why they had to hop onto the trend of pop artists featuring mediocre rappers. Future is straight up trash and he sounds no different here than he usually does. The only difference is that there's no trap beat in the background. But his verse is awful. Adam Levine sounds decent here, which is why I don't hate the song. I don't hate the production, but it's nowhere near everything they've done in the past. It's honestly just a mediocre song all around. There's nothing about it that makes it stand out. I'm glad this wasn't that huge of a hit. Seriously though, Maroon 5 used to be one of my favorites, but this is just disappointing. Maroon 5 need to step up their game.
38. AJR – Weak (#10) [0; Crap]
I don't know how anyone could possibly like this song or anything by AJR. They've been releasing music for the past couple of years and nothing they have released has impressed me. Almost all of it is shit and Weak is no exception. This song is probably the most obnoxious song of the year. The production is messy throughout the whole song, especially in the chorus. The vocals are not that impressive. Looking at the lyrics, I feel like this was supposed to be some kind of self-empowerment song saying that there's nothing wrong with being "weak". But they definitely should've taken a different approach because this song just doesn't do it for me. It sounds very childish. It's painful to listen to and that key change at the last chorus makes the song absolutely unbearable. This song is legitimate garbage and AJR's worst release since I'm Ready, which I also detested. Seriously, these guys need to stop. I'm sorry, but they keep releasing one bad song after the other. It has to stop. And Hits 1 needs to seriously stop picking up their music. I don't know who voted for this song, but they succeeded at tormenting me.
37. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (#6) [0; Crap]
Let me just start off by saying that Uptown Funk has absolutely nothing to do with my opinion on this song. Even though it was very overrated, I enjoyed that song overall and I've come back around to it. 24K Magic is bad in and of itself. I get that people like how his music is more of a throwback to old-school funk. But that's just my personal taste. I'm not a big fan of that kind of music. Argue with me all you want, but at the end of the day, that's just my opinion and you can accept it or tell me that I'm wrong and look like a fool. I just prefer his older music and some of Unorthodox Jukebox. The Lazy Song was shit, but I liked songs like Grenade and Just The Way You Are. But now I feel like he's become very conceited and full of himself. Once again, this is my opinion and how I feel. I think the lyrics to this song are dumb and pointless. They're like something you would hear from any rapper nowadays. He shows no vocal talent here. He only sings one line. I don't think he's a good rapper. But mainly, I'm just not a fan of the person he has become. I can understand why people like this, but I just can't get into it.
36. Alessia Cara – Scars To Your Beautiful (#4) [5; Great]
This is definitely my favorite song from Alessia Cara. I liked both Here and Wild Things, but I think Scars To Your Beautiful is on another level. I love the lyrical content. It's a self-empowerment song about being beautiful just the way you are. I love how she says, "You don't have to change a thing. The world could change its heart." Self-acceptance is definitely something some people struggle with and I like songs like these that tell people that they are who they are and they shouldn't try to be someone else. I think Alessia Cara sounds great on here. She really shows off her voice her much better than she did on Here. Overall, I think it's a beautiful song and I'm glad it was successful. I definitely hope to hear more like this from Alessia Cara in the future.
35. P!nk – What About Us (#1, 1 Week) [5; Great]
I can understand if people don't love this song because it's very unlike what P!nk used to do. In a way, it kind of reminds me of Just Give Me A Reason from 2013, another one of my favorites from P!nk. Very rarely does she ever disappoint me. Her music recently has been very good in my opinion. Like I said, I loved Just Give Me A Reason and I loved Just Like Fire from 2016 as well. What About Us is one of those songs where she really shows off what she's capable of vocally. There are several big notes throughout the song that gave me chills the first bunch of times I heard it. I really like the lyrical content. The song is about four and a half minutes long and I enjoy every second of it. I'm sure you all know how much I love this song and I've given a deeper review in my Top 45 songs of 2017 where I ranked it #4. Definitely check that out if you haven't already.
34. Adele – Water Under The Bridge (#5) [5; Great]
Many wanted this to be released as a single from 25, and they got their wishes. I didn't love that album as a whole. But this was definitely one of the best songs in my opinion. It's more upbeat that the previous three singles and it has more to it to enjoy. Adele does not disappoint on the vocals. The lyrics are good. I like the production. This wasn't as successful as a couple of the other singles, but it peaked in the Top 5 on the Weekend Countdown. So that made me happy. I believe I ranked this #24 in my Top 45 of 2017. It was definitely a stand-out this past year and I'm glad it was released as a single.
33. Jon Bellion – All Time Low (#5) [5; Great]
I remember listening to Beautiful Now by Zedd featuring Jon Bellion (which I believe I ranked #11 in 2015) and thinking, "Wow. This guy has a great voice." I really wish that song lasted more than three weeks on the countdown because it was great. Definitely one of my favorites from 2015. Then in 2016, Jon Bellion released The Human Condition, and I fell in love with a bunch of songs from there, one of which was All Time Low. I'm so glad this made it on to radio stations. This kind of music is always underrated and it's unfortunate because artists like Jon Bellion are super talented. The song is weird, but in a good way. It's different and cool. The chorus seems repetitive, but I love it. The production is cool. I like the lyrics. Honestly, everything about this song is a win for me. I ended up ranking this song #9 in my Top 45 songs of 2016. It was kind of caught between years, but I'm glad it was able to make it on this list for 2017. It deserved all of the success it got.
32. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things (#2) [2; Mediocre]
I'll admit, I liked this at first. I was a fan of Machine Gun Kelly (I still am somewhat). But with time, this just faded on me. My biggest problem here is Camila Cabello. I don't think she sounds good in the chorus. MGK sounds fine throughout the song. But Camila is my least favorite part about it. The production isn't that great here. MGK has definitely done better and it's a shame that this is the song that had to be a hit. This was definitely successful as expected. I kind of wish it wasn't. While it's not a bad song, I think it's pretty mediocre overall. So yeah. Not really a fan of this.
31. Lady Gaga – The Cure (#6) [5; Great]
This song was on my Top 45 songs of 2017. I believe it was #23. So I really like this song. It was a little unexpected since it was released not long after Joanne. It's definitely nowhere near Lady Gaga's best work. But it's a very enjoyable song and I'm glad it was a hit here despite not being huge everywhere else. Although I prefer Million Reasons, this song was pretty catchy and fun to listen to. I'm pleased with how it did on the countdown as it lasted a pretty long time. As I've said before, Lady Gaga can do no wrong (with the exception of songs like Perfect Illusion). Her vocals here are really good and I like the production. Overall, really good song.
30. Imagine Dragons – Thunder (#1, 2 Weeks) [0; Crap]
It's crazy how my opinions on this and Believer have changed. They pretty much switched. As Believer got better, this got worse. Imagine Dragons tried to go for something different on their latest album, Evolve. I can appreciate that and I like that they're trying something new. But the album sucked for the most part aside from songs like Walking The Wire, Whatever It Takes, and Believer. On Thunder, they pretty much went full-on pop/mainstream. It's like this was destined to become a radio hit. I guess it's catchy in a way. But it's so repetitive and parts of the song are actually really annoying, such as the annoying voice in the chorus repeating "thunder". The song is literally "Thunder. Thunder. Feel the thunder. Lightning then the thunder." It's almost like Work by Rihanna where the chorus is so repetitive, it revolves around one word, and means absolutely nothing. The production here is pretty underwhelming, especially for Imagine Dragons. I've compared their latest work to Night Visions very often because I enjoyed that album and it's a little hard to top. Smoke & Mirrors really didn't do it for me and now we have Evolve with songs like Thunder. This band is slowly getting worse. Don't get me wrong, they have a few good songs from their latest album as I've mentioned earlier. But I'm not huge on the direction they're headed. Obviously this song has been very successful these past couple of months because the song was practically made for mainstream radio. I'm hoping this song can start fading away soon so that it's not ranked way too high on Hits 1's Top 45 of 2018. But since Believer is still going strong, who knows when this will leave?
29. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy (#5) [4; Good]
Those that dislike this song, I can totally understand why. It's much different from what Linkin Park used to release. I like that the band was pretty much doing their own thing and what they wanted with their latest album. I myself prefer their older style. But I'm not going to complain about how much they've changed. I know Chester Bennington went off on fans that criticized the album saying that they want to hear more of the old Linkin Park. There are also people that think the band is selling out with songs like Heavy, to which Mike Shinoda confirmed that the album was not made strictly for monetary reasons. I didn't love the album, but I liked that they were doing what they wanted and I know that it was something they truly cared about. That being said, I was a little mixed on Heavy at the beginning. But I did grow to enjoy it. It's a good song. It's nothing amazing, but I found it enjoyable. I like the chorus. Chester sounds fine on here, though he has definitely sounded better and there are a few songs on One More Light where he shows off his amazing voice. I like Kiiara's contribution. She has a good voice. But she sounds a lot like Selena Gomez. So there's really nothing unique about her voice that would allow me to pinpoint it if a song of her's were to play on the radio. I'm usually pretty good with recognizing voices. But I don't think her voice is something I'll be able to recognize immediately. My other problem with this song is the lack of Mike Shinoda. I get that a rap verse from him would sound a little weird in a song like this with how "pop" it is. But he's one of the big reasons I love Linkin Park. They combine rock with rap and you can hear that on songs like Good Goodbye and a lot of their older work. It's really cool. So I was a little disappointed that he wasn't on this song. But it's nothing major. Despite all of this, I do like the song. I like the production in a way and the lyrics are good. It's just not something that memorable in my opinion. It is good though and I'm glad it was successful on Hits 1.
28. Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry (#1, 1 Week) [1; Bad]
I honestly expected more out of Demi Lovato. This song was just a mess in my opinion and I think it's the first single from Demi Lovato just I've truly disliked. I get that it's about the haters and all. The lyrics aren't bad necessarily. But I've never liked the phrase "sorry, not sorry". I think it's stupid and it sounds dumb. The production here is pretty bad. I do like the pre-chorus. But with how it was leading into the chorus, I was expecting a lot out of the chorus, and I was disappointed. I think it's really underwhelming, especially compared to some of her previous songs like Heart Attack, Really Don't Care, and Cool For The Summer. I don't love her vocals here. She sounds pitchy in the chorus, which makes it hard to listen to. I don't think her voice fits well with this type of song. I hate the backup vocals in the chorus that say, "I'm not sorry." I think it sounds awful. I guess the big issue with this is that it doesn't feel like Demi Lovato. I get that she usually tries different things with her music. But for a long time, I had a hard time believing this was her song. It's a shame that this song was such a huge hit and Tell Me You Love Me, which is actually really good in my eyes, isn't nearly as big. This was not a good choice for the lead single. I know Demi Lovato is capable of more.
27. Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl (#1, 4 Weeks) [4; Good]
I was juggling between good and great for this song. I'll admit, I really liked it when it was brand new. I thought it was an interesting new sound for Ed Sheeran. I loved the folk vibe and I thought it was a cool song. But with time, it kind of faded on me. Hits 1 kind of overrated it because of their love for Ed Sheeran. I think one week at the top would've been fine. But four was really pushing it and it was weird since this song never actually took off everywhere else. I do like it, but not as much now. I prefer the other three singles from Divide.
26. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (#1, 1 Week) [3; Decent]
This is another one that I really liked at first. But with time, I lost interest in it. I still like it somewhat. But Twenty One Pilots' music doesn't usually stick with me in the long run. It was definitely a good choice for Suicide Squad. That was a good movie and I think the song fit well with the theme. The song alone doesn't have very much life to it. I like the production and the lyrics here. But it doesn't really have much to it. I'm not huge on Tyler Joseph's vocals here. I don't want to heavily criticize the song because I do still see the good in it. But it just didn't stick with me. I thought it would. But I've heard better from these guys. The second week at #1 this year was a little unnecessary in my opinion. It would've been good last year when it first hit #1.
25. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On (#5) [5; Great]
If you read my Top 45 songs of 2017, you'd know that I really like this song. As I've said before, Steve Aoki has definitely done better. But I still think he did a nice job here. The song is really catchy. I like the production. The lyrics are good. And I love Louis Tomlinson's voice. I was so excited when this song came out because he has always been my personal favorite from One Direction and I was not disappointed when I first listened to the song. Hits 1 treated this song pretty well (hence why it's here) despite it not being as big elsewhere. I just wish Back To You was as a big of a hit on Hits 1 as Just Hold On. Louis is very talented and I think he deserves more than he's getting. It's a shame that the public pass right by him to listen to artists like Liam Payne, who is clearly trying to sound like everyone else. Louis is doing his own thing and he deserves credit for that.
24. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road (#3) [0; Crap]
I'm really not surprised by the number of music critics including this song in their Worst of the Year lists. I like country music for the most part. Some of my friends hate it and I don't fully understand why because there are some really good country artists out there. Sam Hunt has proven himself to not be one of them. Body Like A Back Road is one of those songs that's trying to be country, while also trying to be mainstream, and the result is (as you would expect) not good. This is not true country music. The lyrical content here is awful. This guy is comparing a girl's body to a street. I don't know about you, but I think that's a huge turn-off. There are some very cringy lines that I won't go through right now. But whatever Sam Hunt was going for here just did not work out. The production is pretty lazy and I'm not impressed with his vocal performance. This song is very forgettable and I'm trying to understand why it was so popular. What the hell did people see in this song to make it such a big hit? It's aggravating that the public gives into these kinds of songs. This did not deserve to be as big as it was. I'm disappointed in you, America.
23. Train – Play That Song (#10) [3; Decent]
This song was a lot more successful than I thought it would be. A lot of people dislike this and I can understand why. I never really hated it because I've been a fan of some of Train's past work. I loved Hey, Soul Sister and I will proudly admit that. I thought it was a great song and it was one of my favorites back when it was released. Play That Song is pretty different from what we usually get from these guys. I liked it while it was on the countdown. But after it left, it didn't really stick with me. It's kind of catchy, though not as much as Hey Soul Sister and Drive By. The lyrical content to this song is not that good and the song is pretty slow-paced, especially compared to songs like Drive By that are fast. I'm not really huge on that, but it's not bad necessarily. Overall, this song is kind of a mixed bag for me. I don't love it, but I don't hate it. I didn't mind its success on Hits 1 even though this was the only station it was popular on aside from adult contemporary stations. I think the song is decent. Not Train's best by any means. But I find myself enjoying at times.
22. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee (#7) [5; Great]
I'm impressed that Brendon Urie is still continuing Panic! At The Disco despite being the only member left. The album was okay. But L.A. Devotee was one of the good songs in my opinion and I like that it made it on to Hits 1. Ever since it was released as a promotional single for the album, I thought to myself that it would make a great radio single. But then we got Death Of A Bachelor and that thought just kind of left my mind. But just as that song started to fade away, we got L.A. Devotee, a fast and fun pop tune. I think the song is really catchy and Brendon sounds really good as always. I'm so glad this song was successful on Hits 1 even though it wasn't that big elsewhere. I don't blame Hits 1 for their love for Brendon. He's a very talented and handsome man. But overall, great song.
21. Julia Michaels – Issues (#6) [0; Crap]
I'll admit that Julia Michaels is a good songwriter. She has written numerous hits in the past. She released her debut single in 2017, and it sucks. I questioned its existence when it first debuted on Hit-Bound. Then it got big, and things got worse from there. The production here is awful. The song has such awkward pacing and it was really hard to get into. Her voice sucks, at least on this and Uh Huh, which I find fascinating because she actually sounded really good on Kygo's 2016 single, Carry Me. So I'm not sure if her voice sucks and she just happened to have sounded good there, or if she has a good voice and just happened to suck here. I feel like the weird production has something to do with it. But the point is that she shows no vocal talent here. And one of the reasons I hate this song so much is that it was so overrated. I try not to let that influence very many songs. But this one was just bad. My friends were all going on about how much they loved this song and they would keep playing it, which absolutely frustrated me. I can appreciate the songwriting and the message here. But it was executed so poorly that I didn't even bother looking deeper into the song for a long time. It sucked, so I wanted nothing to do with it. Unfortunately, songwriting alone is not enough to save the song when everything else was done so poorly. I didn't get what all the hype was about. The song is shit in my opinion. I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way. I think she should stick to songwriting.
20. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever (#3) [2; Mediocre]
I never really loved this song from the start. It was the lead single from the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack. I was kind of hoping for something along the lines of Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding. I found this song somewhat underwhelming. The production here is not that exciting. Zayn's vocals are not that good. His falsetto sounds pretty bad. Taylor Swift didn't really contribute much to the song. Her vocals were good and better than Zayn's. But at times, I forgot this was a collaboration with her. Her contribution did not help the song that much and it wasn't that memorable. The song isn't bad by any means, but it just didn't stick with me in the long run. I think more could've been done here. It's a shame that this happens to be one of Zayn's biggest hits because I think it's one of his weakest songs (though better than Still Got Time). I know he's capable of more as he showed us on Dusk Till Dawn. But overall, this song is pretty forgettable and it was a bad choice for the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack's lead single.
19. Charlie Puth – Attention (#1, 1 Week) [5; Great]
It didn't take long for me to grow to love this song. It's easily Charlie Puth's best song so far. One Call Away was pretty bad and We Don't Talk Anymore really didn't stick with me. But Attention is one of those songs I can't see myself getting sick of. It has a really nice groove to it. I like the simplicity of the song. I think it's really enjoyable. Charlie Puth's vocals are definitely improving and I'm impressed by the production, which Puth handled himself. I think he's heading in a good direction right now. His music has improved significantly. Hopefully I can say the same about Voicenotes overall, which apparently got pushed back and won't be released until May. So by the time that comes out, this song will already be over a year old. But I'm sure I'll still like it regardless. I'm liking Charlie Puth's new style and I'm hoping he continues with it because it suits him very well.
18. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap (#2) [5; Great]
I was surprised by how successful this song was on Hits 1. I enjoyed it most in 2016 when it was first released. So Hits 1 will a little late with it. But I'm glad it was successful anyway. Better late than never. HandClap is such a jam and a well put together track. Fitz & The Tantrums are one of those alternative/indie-pop groups that I've enjoyed for a while now. Out Of My League and The Walker were both very enjoyable in my opinion. HandClap is no different. Michael Fitzpatrick's vocals sound really good. I love the production. It's loud and so much fun. I'm so glad this song was such a big hit for them. They deserve it. A #2 peak is very impressive. I'm glad Hits 1 treated it well even if it wasn't necessarily as big elsewhere. Here's to hoping this group can have another hit in the future.
17. Niall Horan – This Town (#2) [3; Decent]
I liked this song when it came out. I thought it was really nice. Unfortunately, it didn't really stick with me in the long run. Now I find it just a little boring compared to his newer songs. But it's still a very well-written track and I can appreciate it for what it is. I like the direction he took with his music by going more acoustic. It suits him and his voice very well. I think he's very talented and there's no doubt that this is a good song overall. I got a little bored of it, but I know others love it and I totally see why. This was a good start for Niall.
16. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go (#3) [4; Good]
This is another acoustic song. I really liked it at first, but I kind of grew out of it as time went on. It is a really sweet song and I'm so glad it gave James Arthur recognition. I'm pretty sure Hits 1 picked up on this before it became a massive hit, which I like. I like when they pick up songs from different artists. It gets boring listening to the same ones over and over again. I thought Say You Won't Let Go was a good song overall. It's not amazing, but I have a lot of positive things to say about it. The songwriting here is really good. I love the lyrics. This is a good song if you're deep in a relationship. His vocals are good for the most part. I like the instrumentation here. I remember they played this at my senior prom back in May and I slow-danced to it with my best friend. Those were good times. But overall, I like the song and I'm glad it was a success.
15. Shawn Mendes – Mercy (#2) [5; Great]
I don't really have much to say here. I thought this song was a step-up from Treat You Better and it's probably one of his best songs so far. I liked it ever since it was released and I'm glad it was a hit. It's more acoustic and Shawn Mendes really shows his talent here as a songwriter, musician, and vocalist. I think his voice really stands out in this song. The instrumentation is good. Like I said, I'm glad this was a hit. It deserved to be a #1 song in my opinion, especially since Treat You Better was apparently worthy of it. But #2 is good enough.
14. The Chainsmokers – Paris (#1, 1 Week) [5; Great]
The follow-up to the massive hit, Closer, was definitely an enjoyable one. This was the lead single for Memories...Do Not Open and it just so happened to be one of the only good songs along with its successor. Andrew Taggart's vocals have definitely improved. He sounds really good here. I like the contribution from Emily Warren. Her voice sounds good too. The production here is really good. I love the verses and the way the song builds up to the big drop towards the end of the song. It's a very enjoyable listen in my opinion and there was no doubt that it would be successful. I think one week at the top was good and I'm glad it didn't overdo it like Closer.
13. Maroon 5/Kendrick Lamar – Don't Wanna Know (#1, 3 Weeks) [0; Crap]
Whenever I heard this song on the radio (because trust me, I've heard it way too many times), I sat there and thought to myself, "What happened?" Maroon 5 used to be my favorite band back in the early 2010's since they were very relevant at that time. I really enjoyed their first two albums and She Will Be Loved is one of my Top 5 favorite songs of all time. I grew up with that song. I started to question their direction when V was released. I liked a handful of songs from there like Maps, It Was Always You, Animals, My Heart Is Open, and Shoot Love. But this song is just Maroon 5 hitting rock bottom. This is a new low for them. I don't know why I liked this at first. This song is shit. There's no band here. It's mediocre as hell and was very poorly executed. Adam Levine's vocals are not good. Kendrick Lamar couldn't save the song unfortunately. His verse did nothing for it. Honestly, I know Maroon 5 are capable of more. This is not a good direction for them. If they keep releasing stuff like this, they will slowly continue moving down my list of my favorite bands/artists.
12. Liam Payne – Strip That Down (#1, 2 Weeks) [0; Crap]
Of course there just had to be one One Direction member that turned to hip-hop for his solo project. I don't get why some artists try so hard to sound like everyone else. But since not very many people even know Liam, he probably did this to try to make himself relevant. Sure enough, it worked. This was a #1 hit, which further proves that America has lost the ability to distinguish good songs from bad ones. I don't see the appeal to this. Liam's attempt to sound sexy ultimately failed here and the production is really lazy. The lyrics aren't that different from other hip-hop/trap songs. The One Direction diss was unnecessary. I pretty much talked about why I hate this in full when I counted down my Bottom 10 songs of 2017. It's annoying that this song got so big, but songs from Harry Styles get nowhere. I don't understand why this kind of hip-hop/rap is so popular nowadays. Little work goes into a lot of songs from this genre. Obviously, you can exclude artists like Kendrick Lamar, Logic, Macklemore, Eminem, and possibly G-Eazy. Everyone else that's relevant right now are the reason why I despise today's rap music. But like I said at the beginning of the post, that's a whole other topic to be discussed in a future post.
11. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me (#4) [6; Best Song of the Year]
As I've said numerous times, I'm a massive fan of Kygo. I've been a fan ever since Firestone and Stole The Show. His music was the first tropical-house-type music I'd ever heard and I really liked it. Ever since then, I liked just about everything he released including his debut album, Cloud Nine. Then in 2017, he released It Ain't Me, which became a hit likely because of Selena Gomez's contribution to the track. It is a fantastic song in my opinion. The production here is on point and I like the use of the chopped up vocals. It sounds cool here, which is surprising since chopped-up vocals usually sound really annoying. But here it works and Selena Gomez sounds amazing. This is easily the best thing she has done all year. She really shows off her voice here. I really like the lyrical content. I think the song was very well-written and very well-produced. I'm so proud to see how far Kygo has come and I'm so glad he finally had a massive hit not only in the U.S., but all around the world. He's a very talented musician and producer. He's currently on tour and I really wish I could see him live. I saw him live once before along with a bunch of other artists last summer. He closed out the show and it was fantastic. But anyway, I absolutely love the song and I'm glad it was a big hit.
10. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (#1, 1 Week) [0; Crap]
Again, Uptown Funk has nothing to do with this. I was just not feeling this song. I do like that there's more singing here compared to 24K Magic, where only one line was actually sung. But other than that, the song does nothing for me and it's pretty annoying if I'm being totally honest. Something about the "Lucky for you, that's what I like. That's what I like" line just annoys me. I can't really explain why. I totally understand why people like this and his new style. But it's just not my personal taste. I'm not a fan of the production and I don't really like the lyrics for the most part. The song was also really overplayed, which kind of made the song worse. Honestly, I don't have much else to say. I'm pretty sure you all know how I feel about this song by now.
9. Niall Horan – Slow Hands (#1, 3 Weeks) [5; Great]
I thought this was a good follow-up to This Town. That song was a lot more acoustic, while Slow Hands is more upbeat while still having that acoustic sound that makes Niall unique. I believe I compared him to Ed Sheeran because they do have a lot of similarities in their styles of music. They're also good songwriters. Slow Hands I believe is about sex, so maybe not that song. But some of his other songs show that he is a good writer. He also has a good voice that he shows off nicely here. I think this style of music fits with his voice the best and I'm glad he went this route. The song is catchy and it was well-produced. I'm glad this ended up being the bigger hit of his first two singles because I think it's more enjoyable. This Town was sweet, but got boring after a while. But Slow Hands had me for quite a while. I'm starting to grow out of it, but I put it in green since I included it in my Top 45 songs of 2017. It's a great song. But I've heard it a little too much at this point.
8. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (#1, 2 Weeks) [1; Bad]
There have been numerous occasions in which I like a song at first. But at some point, I come to the realization that it's actually not a good song at all. An example of that is Thunder by Imagine Dragons, which I talked about earlier. But Starving is another great example. I thought the song sounded cool and different at first. But after a while, it started to get on my nerves. Let me just say that this did not deserve to be a #1 hit. Hailee Steinfeld has done better in the past and none of those songs made it anywhere near #1. But for some reason, Starving was a favorite in the country. I think the song is pretty annoying. The drop is messy and quite irritating. The scratchy guitar is annoying. Hailee Steinfeld's vocals seem restricted. It feels like she's holding back and we don't get to hear what she's truly capable of vocally. She's very talented as I've seen in Pitch Perfect and heard in songs like Rock Bottom with DNCE. But for some reason, it feels like she's not even trying here. The production team did a pretty bad job producing the track. It's not just bland and mediocre, it's straight up annoying. And spending all those weeks in the Top 10 really did not help. This was the first sign of Zedd's path towards selling out it's annoying that his new song, The Middle, sounds like a rehash of this. But that's another topic. Overall, the song is pretty bad. Hailee Steinfeld is capable of more and she showed it with her current hit, Let Me Go, which is like this song, but better.
7. Imagine Dragons – Believer (#1, 3 Weeks) [5; Great]
Imagine Dragons have definitely released some interesting songs this past year and my opinions now are not the same as they were originally. I originally detested this song. I found the yelling in the chorus to be unnecessary and annoying. I told myself, "This isn't the Imagine Dragons I like," because I kept comparing this to their album, Night Visions, which had hits like Demons, It's Time, and Radioactive. But at some point this past year, I stopped comparing this to their older work and sure enough, the song grew on me. Towards the end of the year, I came to the realization that this is the Imagine Dragons I like. It's songs like Thunder that I find disappointing. I grew into Believer enough to the point where I included it in my Top 45 songs of 2017, which I didn't think was possible at first. Is the song amazing? No. But I like it for what it is. It's different, but cool. I like the chorus and the yelling doesn't bother me anymore. So while people were growing out of this song due to factors such as overplay, I was growing into the song. I don't know if that has ever happened before. But surely, there's a first for everything. I may not have liked the song back when it was #1. But at least I like it now because it's still in the upper half of the countdown. Things wouldn't be pretty if I still hated it.
6. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This (#1, 3 Weeks) [5; Great]
No, I'm not one of those people that hates The Chainsmokers for being so overrated. It's not exactly their fault that Closer got so big. I still give their songs fair judgement. Something Just Like This is probably their best song in their whole career so far. Sure, it sounds a lot like Roses (which I also really liked by the way). But it's such a beautiful song the way it was put together, written, and produced. I love all the superhero references as well as the superhero theme in the lyric video. It takes me back to when I was a kid and thought that superheroes were the best thing ever. Chris Martin blesses us with his amazing voice and it makes the song so mesmerizing. The production is really good. The song is just over four minutes long and it's amazing from start to end. I enjoy every second of it. Looking back on it, this may have been a better choice for my #1 of the year. But Coldplay had their time at #1 in 2016, so I thought I'd give it to someone else in 2017. But this song just barely missed that title. It's absolutely amazing and I'm glad it was as big as it was.
5. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (#1, 3 Weeks) [5; Great]
I talked about this one in great depth in my Top 45 songs of 2017, where this ranked #15. This was released on the same day as Shape Of You. Despite Shape Of You being the bigger hit, I think Castle On The Hill is the better song. Don't get me wrong, I like Shape Of You. But Castle On The Hill has something more to it that made me not get sick of it. There is the fact that I didn't hear this song as much outside of Hits 1 as I did with Shape Of You. But I feel like this song has more life to it. The guitar sounds really cool and I think the chorus is energetic and enjoyable. As usual Ed Sheeran shows off his great songwriting skills. I really like the lyrics as he sings about life experiences. His voice sounds great on here, especially in the chorus. I love the production and how fast the song is. While not being that big of a hit, it was loved by Hits 1 and did well on the Weekend Countdown spending a good amount of weeks at the top. It did take some time though since this song initially only spent two weeks on the countdown. But eventually, it re-entered and it was one of the rare occasions in which the song does better the second time around. But overall, I love it and I'm glad it did well here.
4. Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (#1, 5 Weeks) [3; Decent]
This was one of the few songs this past year that kind of got killed from radio overplay. Hits 1 played this a lot, which is why it's so high. They also played it a lot on one of my local FM radio stations. So at some point, I got a little tired of hearing it. But it was definitely a good song and I still like it to some extent. Shawn Mendes definitely improved from Treat You Better and he shows a good amount of talent here as a songwriter, vocalist, and musician. The guitar all throughout the song is something that got stuck in my head the first several times I listened to this song. His voice sounds really good in the chorus. I like the production for the most part. All in all, it's a good, catchy song. I can definitely see myself growing back into this sometime after it leaves the countdown. (It's the highest ranked song that's still on there.) But for now, I'm trying to avoid it. Though I am proud of Shawn Mendes for how big he has become these past couple of years.
3. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer (#1, 8 Weeks in 2016) [3; Decent]
I feel like this was ranked too high, especially since this already made an appearance in the Year-End list for 2016. This is the only song in the Top 10 that didn't hit #1 this year. I think the majority of its popularity was in 2016. So to be ranked at #3 this year is really pushing it. I think Something Just Like This should be here, while Closer be at #6. I liked this song at first. But with time, I started to realize that it's not exactly a great song. I like the duet and I think Andrew and Halsey sound good together. But the production seems a little basic compared to their other songs. The drop gets a little annoying when you've heard it so many times. I'm aware that this is clearly the biggest song of their career. But this is not their best work in my opinion. It is definitely better than some of the songs from Memories...Do Not Open. But I think songs like Roses and Something Just Like This are superior. The song is fine. I'm just not huge on the ranking. I think this is too high.
2. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay (#1, 4 Weeks) [1; Bad]
Now this one was definitely ranked too high. Very similar to Starving, I liked this song initially. But it faded on me relatively quickly. But it wasn't until the release of Get Low and The Middle that I began to realize just how mediocre this song really is. There is no doubt that Zedd has done better. Don't even bother arguing with me otherwise because it's pretty damn obvious if you've even listened to his last two albums. This song is very basic compared to those. This song was also very overrated just like Starving, which got on my nerves. Sure, it's catchy. But there's nothing about it that will make it memorable. None of Zedd's new songs are memorable because they're basic as hell. I'm having a hard time picturing someone dancing to this song, whereas his last two albums were full of club bangers. The only reason I don't hate this song is because I like Alessia Cara's contribution. I think she sounds pretty good here. But overall, the song lacks what made Zedd unique. You can tell he's trying to be mainstream here. This was quite overrated and having it at #2 for the year is just not right.
1. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (#1, 9 Weeks) [4; Good]
I saw this coming from a mile away. It was Ed Sheeran's big return that soon became arguably the most overplayed song of the year. It's definitely a good song. But it's really not much compared to the singles that came after this as well as Castle On The Hill. I like the simplicity of this. But it's definitely something to easily get sick of, at least for me. I feel like people really overpraised this song. It's #1 of the year on almost every legitimate popularity-based countdown/chart (American Top 40, Billboard Hot 100, etc.). But is it really that spectacular? It's catchy, but it really doesn't do that much for me. So I think this song in particular was overrated just because it's really not that special. I feel like people liked this song because it was catchy and it's Ed Sheeran. While I do think the song is good, I don't think it's #1-of-the-year good. He's done better in the past and his next few releases were really good too. But this one is kind of just another song to me. I'm having a hard time understanding why it's so loved to the point where it's the #1 song of the year. It just doesn't feel right to me. But I definitely like the song. There could have been worse at #1, so I'm pleased enough with this.
Those were my reviews for Hits 1's Top 45 of 2017. Now I'm going to do rank every song in a Top 45 Review, which is very similar to my Top 20 Reviews. Each song got a ranking that you see in my Top 20 Reviews every week. This is what they are for. So with that, here is Hits 1's Top 45 of 2017 ranked based on my opinion.
Top 45 Review
0 – Crap:
45. Julia Michaels – Issues
44. Liam Payne – Strip That Down
43. AJR – Weak
42. Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know
41. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic
40. Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road
39. Bruno Mars – That's What I Like
38. Imagine Dragons – Thunder
1 – Bad:
37. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving
36. Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay
35. Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry
34. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side
2 – Mediocre:
33. Maroon 5 – Cold
32. Zayn/Taylor Swift – I Don't Wanna Live Forever
31. Machine Gun Kelly/Camila Cabello – Bad Things
3 – Decent:
30. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens
29. Niall Horan – This Town
28. Train – Play That Song
27. The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer
26. Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back
4 – Good:
25. James Arthur – Say You Won't Let Go
24. Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl
23. Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You
22. Linkin Park/Kiiara – Heavy
5 – Great:
21. Panic! At The Disco – L.A. Devotee
20. Alessia Cara – Scars To Your Beautiful
19. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor
18. Shawn Mendes – Mercy
17. The Chainsmokers – Paris
16. Imagine Dragons – Believer
15. Niall Horan – Slow Hands
14. Charlie Puth – Attention
13. Fitz & The Tantrums – HandClap
12. Steve Aoki/Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On
11. Adele – Water Under The Bridge
10. Lady Gaga – The Cure
9. Jon Bellion – All Time Low
8. Linkin Park – One More Light
7. Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill
6. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee/Justin Bieber – Despacito
5. Kesha – Praying
4. P!nk – What About Us
3. The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming
2. The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This
BONUS: 6 – Best Song Of The Year:
1. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me
Final Score: 147/225 = 65.3% (B)
After a long month or so, I've finally completed this post. It definitely took a lot of time and I put a lot of effort into this. I'm glad I can finally share it with you guys. This year, the Weekend Countdown gets a 65.3%, which is a B since I changed my grading scale to be more fair. The percentage is better than last year's 62.7%, which is good. There was some improvement. Not much, but enough to be acknowledged. Hopefully 2018 is even better. I still have one more Year-End post to do, which is my review of the Billboard Year-End chart. That hopefully won't take as long because I won't go into as much detail and it won't be as long. Hopefully, I'll have that for you guys by the end of the month. But with that, that is all I have for you guys today! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)
