Year-End Special (Part 3): My Top 45 Songs of 2018

I feel like the quality of the music we got in 2018 is not that different from recent years because we still have a lot of rap music dominating. But, as with every year, there were many songs that I enjoyed this past year. A lot of these songs were songs that I enjoyed from the very first listen. There are also a few that I didn't care for at first, but came around to over time. So now, I will be counting down my Top 45 favorite songs of this past year. These are the songs that had my attention in 2018. They are the songs that I've listened to many times as I've listened to each and every one of them multiple times. These are the 45 songs that stood out the most and many of them stand out for different reasons. But regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed all of them. Before we get into the list, I do have things to cover first. So let's start by going over the rules and requirements for eligibility for this list.


1) Only songs that appeared on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown are eligible. This is a Hits 1 blog, so it makes sense. If it was a Hit-Bound dropout, it's unfortunately not eligible. It needed to have spent at least one week on the countdown in 2018. I understand that there were a lot of other great songs this past year that Hits 1 did not pick up. The next Year-End post will be where I count down the best songs outside of Hits 1. So those songs will still get acknowledged. But for this list, we're restricting it to Hits 1.

2) No songs from previous year-end Top 45 lists are eligible for this year's list. That way it'll be 45 new songs and there will be no repeats from last year or any year before. Looking at last year's list, there are really only one or two songs that I might've ranked higher this year, although the competition this year was tough. But overall, I don't think this is an issue this year.

3) Songs that debuted in December are not eligible. I made the cutoff date for eligibility December 1, 2018, making Thank U, Next, Don't Leave Me Alone, Woman Like Me, and There's No Way the final songs eligible for 2018. I do this to avoid prematurely ranking songs that could very well be more successful in 2019. If I were to rank them this year, then they won't be eligible for next year's ranking. The following songs debuted past the cutoff date and are not eligible for this year's list, but will be looked at first for consideration for the Top 45 Songs of 2019.

• Ava Max – Sweet But Psycho
• Lauren Jauregui – Expectations
• Olly Murs/Snoop Dogg – Moves
• Ellie Goulding/Diplo/Swae Lee – Close To Me
• Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine
• James Arthur – Empty Space
• Mark Ronson/Miley Cyrus – Nothing Breaks Like A Heart
• Steve Aoki/BTS – Waste It On Me

Now that we got those rules out of the way, I'd like to go through all my honorable mentions for this list. They are the songs that came very close, but just didn't make the cut for this countdown.

• 5 Seconds Of Summer – Want You Back (#50)
• 5 Seconds Of Summer – Youngblood (#46)
• Alan Walker/Noah Cyrus/Digital Farm Animals – All Falls Down
• All Time Low – Last Young Renegade
• Ariana Grande – Breathin
• Bebe Rexha – I'm A Mess
• Benny Blanco/Halsey/Khalid – Eastside
• Calvin Harris/Dua Lipa – One Kiss
• Clean Bandit/Demi Lovato – Solo (#47)
• Drake – God's Plan
• Dustin Atlas/Erin Bowman – Fake Friends
• Halsey – Alone (probably would've made it if it were the Big Sean remix)
• Imagine Dragons – Natural
• Liam Payne/J Balvin – Familiar
• Little Mix/Nicki Minaj – Woman Like Me
• Marshmello/Bastille – Happier
• Panic! At The Disco – Hey Look Ma, I Made It
• Post Malone – Better Now
• Post Malone/21 Savage – Rockstar
• Sabrina Carpenter – Almost Love
• Shawn Mendes – Nervous
• Sugarland/Taylor Swift – Babe
• U2/Cheat Codes – Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way (#48)
• Weezer – Africa
• X Ambassadors – Ahead Of Myself (#49)

I'd like to mention that this is the second year Ahead Of Myself missed the list. I tried to find room for it this year, but the competition was tough. However, it does place itself in the Top 50, which is something at least. A few of these other songs could very well be ranked in 2019 since they're still currently on the countdown. But unfortunately, there was no room for them this year.

Finally, let's rewind to last year for a minute. Here are my Top 5 Songs from 2017:

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

1. Kygo/Selena Gomez – It Ain't Me

Alright. I believe I've covered everything I needed to cover. We're now ready to jump right into the list. I'd like to reiterate that everything you're about to see are my own opinions. These are my favorite songs of the year. You may not agree with them and that's perfectly fine unless you try to start an argument with me. My picks. Not yours. So with that, let's kick things off with #45.

45. Maroon 5/Cardi B – Girls Like You

For those who don't know, I did not like this song at first because it's pretty clear that Maroon 5 have done much better with their first two albums in particular. I did not like Red Pill Blues overall and I did not like this initially. But it definitely grew on me. It's simplistic and I think it actually works pretty well here. It's a great song to sing along to. Adam Levine sounds pretty good. Despite the lack of band, I think this is really good. Cardi B's verse is easily the best thing about the song and that is coming from someone who does not like Cardi B for the most part. But her verse is the most interesting thing about the song and I think she has a great flow. Her voice isn't as annoying as it usually is. I enjoy her verse to the point where I would never listen to the original version of this song. She definitely helped it. I'm glad this song was as successful as it was and I'm glad it managed to grow on me because it really is a solid track and I can't say that about a lot of the stuff Maroon 5 puts out these days.

44. Kim Petras – Heart To Break
This is one of the many non-hit songs Hits 1 picked up during 2018 and the first of a few on this list. It is from openly transgender artist Kim Petras. This one actually took a few listens for me to get into because I didn't love the beat at first. But now I enjoy it quite a bit. Kim Petras sounds absolutely fantastic. I love her voice and it's the best thing about the song. She has a great range and sounds amazing in the chorus. The lyrics are pretty relatable as it's about being in a relationship essentially. Looking at Kim Petras' discography, she does have a few other singles along with this one. But I'm definitely interested to see what she'll bring in the future. Even if it doesn't hit the radio, I'll give whatever she puts out a fair listen because she is extremely talented. Heart To Break deserved to be much bigger than it was, but I'm glad Hits 1 exposed me to it. Even if I didn't totally love it at first listen, it definitely won me over with time enough to make an appearance on this list.

43. Fall Out Boy – Hold Me Tight Or Don't
Another song that I did not love at first, but warmed up to. This is probably the one that took the longest amount of time. Fall Out Boy released one of the worst albums of 2018, titled MANIA. But from that album, we got a couple of good singles aside from the lead single, which we do not speak of because it's easily Fall Out Boy's worst song. I found Hold Me Tight Or Don't pretty annoying at first, but I actually really like it now. It's different, but it works for them. I think the song is really catchy and I really like the beat. The chorus is infectious and can easily get stuck in my head. Patrick Stump has sounded better, but he still sounds good here. His vocals were one of the things I criticized initially, but I think sounds fine. It's not much of an issue at all. But yeah. I think this is a solid track overall. They've done much better, obviously. But I enjoy this song for what it is and I'm happy that it did decent on the countdown peaking in the Top 10.

42. Drake – In My Feelings
2018 has definitely been the year for Drake. In My Feelings is one of his three #1 hits in 2018, along with God's Plan, which was an honorable mention, and Nice For What, which missed Hits 1 but will be discussed in my next year-end post. In My Feelings is not Drake's best, but I would personally say it's one of his best. There's not much to it like there is with songs like Nice For What. But it still sounds really good. I like the beat. Drake's altering between singing and rapping works pretty well. The song also features samples from the City Girls, who I only heard of for the first time just recently. I feel like I should find their parts in the song annoying, but I actually really like it. It's adds something to the song to help make it more interesting and I think works well here. I have not looked into the lyrics aside from the obvious "Kiki, do you love me?" and all that good stuff. So I'm not exactly sure what the song is about. But musically, this is a great song and I'm glad it was a #1 hit. Drake is undoubtedly the biggest artist of 2018 and I'm glad he had some good chart-toppers like In My Feelings.

41. Bazzi/Camila Cabello – Beautiful
We all know Bazzi's hit from earlier in the year, Mine. I was not a fan of that one personally. But Beautiful was a good improvement. Of course it didn't get big until the song was rereleased as a single with Camila Cabello. Although I originally wasn't looking forward to how it would turn out, I was pleasantly surprised with how it did turn out. It's a really nice song. Bazzi has a great voice and that showed on Mine even though I wasn't a fan. I feel like he shows off his voice a bit more on Beautiful and I like that. Camila Cabello's verse is fine. I don't really love it because there a bunch of unnecessary vocal effects on her voice that don't sound that good. But considering that she has done a lot of worse, her verse is perfectly passable. I like what she adds to the last chorus. The lyrics are good. Overall, this is a great song and I'm glad it's sticking around on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown despite it not peaking very high. It's easily the better song of his two 2018 hits.

40. Walk The Moon – Kamikaze
I'm sure we all remember Walk The Moon bringing one of the biggest songs of 2015 in the form of Shut Up and Dance, which is tied for most weeks spent at #1 on the Weekend Countdown with 12. I enjoy that song even though it was massively overplayed at the time. It is a solid song overall though. It probably goes without saying that Kamikaze is not their best work and there are some better songs from their album What If Nothing. But something about this song just reels me in. It's weird, but the good kind of weird. It's extremely catchy, especially the chorus. Even though there isn't much actual singing from Nick Petricca, I enjoy what this song has to offer. These guys like to experiment with electronic sounds and I think it worked out very well here. It's a shame this song didn't stick around very long even though it wasn't a hit because it was a very enjoyable one.

39. Shawn Mendes/Zedd – Lost In Japan
I wasn't planning on including this because I thought it might've been a bigger hit in 2019. But it just recently dropped out of the countdown, so I kind of had to include it. Also, it would've been higher if it were the original version. The Zedd remix brought it down a little bit even though it's solid. In comparison to the original, the remix takes away some of the grooviness and Shawn Mendes' vocals are covered in autotune. I think the original is a lot better. But I do kind like the remix because the ticking clock actually sounds good for once and the drop is kind of catchy. It's easily the best thing Zedd has done since his album True Colors. I am happy that this song got released as a single. I just wish it didn't need the remix. I would've loved to have heard the original version on the radio. Oh well. Like I said, the remix is solid and I enjoyed it enough to put it on this list. At least Zedd did something well this year after releasing two of the worst songs of 2018.

38. Brown & Gray – Top Down
Here we have another underground song that I was exposed to by Hits 1. There have been a handful of good country songs this past year. But I think Top Down is one of the best. I think everything about this song works from the moment it starts. I like the little guitar intro. Sam Gray and Kaci Brown both sound great in their verses. But I love when they come together in the chorus. They have amazing chemistry and their voices just sound great together. I love how their voices sound during that build-up and I think the song is really catchy. The lyrics are good and I think the guitar was put to great use. Honestly, I see nothing wrong with this song. It's a fun song to jam to in the car or really anywhere. I wish this song was bigger both in mainstream and in country music because it's one of the best things the genre of country had to offer in 2018. Good songwriting, really good instrumentation, great vocals, and amazing chemistry. This song was a winner for me and I wish it had done better on Hits 1 because it is a very solid track.

37. Portugal. The Man – Live In The Moment
Portugal. The Man made an appearance in my Top 45 Songs of 2017, where I placed Feel It Still at #30. I actually don't like that song anymore, so I kinda regret putting it there. However, I do not regret including Live In The Moment in this year's list because this song is actually really good and a lot better than Feel It Still, which was annoying mostly because of the vocals. This guy's voice actually sounds pretty good here and I like the production. The chorus is really enjoyable and infectious to the point where I would be singing it to myself without the song playing. It's a very solid alternative track from a band who I can consider talented. The long outro is kind of unnecessary, but I don't really mind it that much. Other than that, I see no real issues with this song. I think it would've been a great song to represent the genre of alternative, but instead we're getting a bunch of Imagine Dragons songs doing that. Live In The Moment like I said is a much better song than Feel It Still even though it wasn't as big of a hit. I think it spent only two or three weeks on the countdown before leaving and returning to Hit-Bound. Then it just went nowhere. But this is the superior song by a long shot and I think it deserved better.

36. lovelytheband – Broken
If you had told me this song would've gotten as big as it is on the week it entered Hit-Bound, I probably would've said you were crazy. This is definitely one of my biggest growers of the year. I never even disliked this song. I just thought it was nothing special when it debuted on Hit-Bound. I figured it would just chill there for a little while and then leave. Sure enough, it actually became a hit and I started to get the appeal. I like these kinds of alternative songs, which is basically why I like this one. I get some Foster The People vibes, which is cool since I like that band. But I think lovelytheband did a nice job with Broken. It's cool and interesting. It's very catchy. The vocals are really good. The lyrics are good. I don't think this is something I'll remember in the long run, but it's very enjoyable at the moment and I'm happy to see it get this big because, like I said, I did not expect it out of this song. It definitely proved me wrong and I'm glad I grew into it because it's solid. I'm glad it's successful because it's a great song.

35. Sam Smith/Logic – Pray
After Too Good At Goodbyes missed the 2017 list, Sam Smith managed to get a song on the 2018 list in the form of Pray. Hits 1 played the version with Logic, which is good because I like this version more than the original. But I think this is a great song. Logic has solid verses that flow nicely with the song. Sam Smith sounds great. I love the bridge of the song, which is where I think Sam Smith sounds the best. It's easily the best part of the song. But I enjoy the song as a whole overall. The lyrics are good. It's a collab that I wasn't expecting that turned out great. It's a shame this wasn't a bigger hit. It only spent two weeks on the Weekend Countdown and it definitely deserved better because Sam Smith is very talented. But hey, it spent a couple weeks on the countdown and as a result, was eligible for this list. So that's something. Pray is a great song that should've been a hit.

34. The Chainsmokers/Emily Warren – Side Effects
In 2017, The Chainsmokers brought my #2 song of the year, Something Just Like This, which I still to this day consider their best song. Then they released songs like Sick Boy and You Owe Me that weren't nearly as good. Then we got Everybody Hates Me and Somebody, both of which I do not like and the latter is probably their worst song. They were losing what made them unique. And then we got Side Effects, which features Emily Warren who collaborated with them a few times in the past including their hit Paris. Everything about this song works. It has this nice groovy beat. Emily Warren sounds great. I really like her voice here, especially in the chorus. The production is really good and a massive step up from what they had been doing. This is The Chainsmokers that I know and like. This is a step in the right direction. It's easily their best song from 2018 and possibly one of the best songs in their discography. Not as great as Something Just Like This, Paris, or even Roses, but it's definitely very enjoyable and I applaud The Chainsmokers for putting something out this year that's great. I'm glad it had some success on Hits 1.

33. Khalid/Normani – Love Lies
This one was a late bloomer because I know it's from the Love, Simon soundtrack, which I believe was released in March because that's when the movie came out. It didn't get big until later in the year. But it's still a great song. I wasn't huge on some of Khalid's stuff from previous years. But Love Lies is probably his best performance because he shows off his range a lot more. The song also features Normani Kordei from Fifth Harmony and I've come to the conclusion that she is the best singer from the group. She sounds great here on her own and she has great chemistry with Khalid. They both sound great together. I like the production. It's a very nice R&B song that deserved all the success it got. My local radio stations play it all the time, which is good because it's great. I'm glad radio finally picked up on it because I enjoyed it ever since the soundtrack was released. It's still hanging around in the Top 10 on the Weekend Countdown, which is good. I'm glad it's been successful on there. So yeah. Great song from a great movie.

32. Bruno Mars/Cardi B – Finesse
I hold the unpopular opinion of not liking the majority of Bruno Mars' 24K Magic as someone who really liked his older stuff. Despite me initially not liking this song, I think Finesse is the best single from 24K Magic. It's very cool and it's a lot of fun. The production is great. Cardi B was a nice addition to the song. I enjoy her verse and how she handles the "yeah we got it goin on, got it goin on." Bruno Mars is a very talented singer and he sounds great here. So yeah. I really enjoy this and take that from someone who did not like the earlier singles from the album. Bruno Mars managed to impress me with this one and I'm glad it was a big hit. Hopefully I enjoy whatever he brings next. We'll just have to wait and see. But I do know that he is talented and that it's possible for him to put out something I can enjoy.

31. Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes
My constant comment about Imagine Dragons is that Night Visions is their best album. Evolve was very mediocre overall. But from that album was a gem called Whatever It Takes. This song and Walking The Wire are easily the two best songs from that album. Whatever It Takes is the closest thing to Night Visions that Evolve has to offer. It's cool and fast. Dan Reynolds sounds great. I love that chorus. The build-up to it is great. The lyrical content is pretty good. I remember when this song spent forever on Hit-Bound and I didn't think it would become a hit. Sure enough, it became a bigger hit than I thought it would be, which made me very happy because it's one of the best Imagine Dragons singles in a while. This is the Imagine Dragons that I like and it's unfortunate that they didn't do much of this in Origins. But hopefully in the future, we can get another Imagine Dragons song similar to this one. This is Hits 1's #2 song of 2018 and I am perfectly fine with that. I'll talk more about when I get around to reviewing Hits 1's year-end list.

30. Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran/Future – End Game
Personally, I did not like the majority of Reputation. One can tell that Taylor Swift changed from 1989 to Reputation just from songs like I Did Something Bad and Look What You Made Me Do. End Game is my favorite single from Reputation and it's the only single I consider a good song. But I like just about everything about this song. Taylor Swift sounds great. Future sounds better than he usually does. Ed Sheeran sounds really good. It's an interesting collab that actually kind of works. I was pleased with how this song turned out and I wish it was a bigger hit because it's the best single from Reputation. End Game did manage to spend a week at #1 fortunately because Hits 1 stans Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. So them being on a song together just had to be #1. Then it was on a free fall and left not too long later. Then of course Delicate was the bigger hit. But I still think End Game is the better song and it definitely deserved more success than it got.

29. Rudimental/Jess Glynne/Macklemore/Dan Caplen – These Days
Hits 1 have picked up a few Rudimental singles in the past including Feel The Love with John Newman and Lay It All On Me with Ed Sheeran, both of which were great songs. This year we got These Days, which is another great song from them. I can't say some of the songs they've done this year are that good. But These Days is what I like to hear from these guys. The production here is great. It's a very well-produced track. Dan Caplen sounds good during the verses. I love hearing Jess Glynne in the chorus. I think she has a great voice. She and Dan Caplen sound great when they sing together. Macklemore's verse is solid. Honestly I really like everything about this song. I see no flaws whatsoever. I'm pretty sure it was a hit over in the UK. But it deserved to be bigger here. I'm glad Hits 1 picked up on it and had it stick around for a little while peaking in the teens. But I still wish this was a bigger hit here in the US because it's what I like to hear from Rudimental and all of the guest artists sound great. So yeah. This is a great song that was severely underrated everywhere except Hits 1.

28. Camila Cabello – Havana
I think it should go without saying that Camila Cabello is not the best singer from Fifth Harmony. So I wasn't exactly looking forward to what she would bring as a solo artist. Crying In The Club was not good and that one didn't really go anywhere fortunately. But then I listened to Havana and I was like "Wow this is pretty good." It only got better from there. I have to say, the production and the whole Latin vibe is what sold this song for me. I love a good Latin pop song and Havana is that. Despite me not liking Camila Cabello's voice, she actually sounds really good here and she's not trying too hard like she does in Never Be The Same. I think she should always sing like this because this is when she sounds good and not grating. I don't like Young Thug's verse. He brings the song down for me. Fortunately Hits 1 played the solo version, which is better. But yeah. This is a great song and I'm so glad that it's this song that got big because it's probably her best song. I don't know if she'll ever put out anything as good, but we'll see. She definitely has potential to get better.

27. Kesha/The Dap-Kings Horns – Woman
This woman has gone through so much in recent years and she has my respect because she has proved to us that she is fighter and has been one through everything she's been through. Last year, she brought Praying, which was pretty much locked for my Top 5 of 2017. It was very beautiful. Then this year, we got Woman, which is much more like her older songs that I loved. TiK ToK and We R Who We R are just a couple of songs that I revisit all the time because they are jams. Woman is basically another one of those. It's actually a good female empowerment song (take notes Meghan Trainor). Kesha sounds amazing. I really love her voice. Most of all though, this song is just a lot of fun. This is the kind of song I would totally blast in the car while driving because it's an absolute jam. I love how Kesha came back not only with beautiful ballads, but with more upbeat anthems because I loved that about her when she went by Ke$ha. This woman is beyond talented and I really wish Woman was a bigger hit. It spent a little time on Hits 1, which is good because it really is a great song. I love everything about it.

26. Troye Sivan – My My My!
Speaking of jams, Troye Sivan brought us the lead single from an album that I enjoyed for the most part. I remember being a fan of Troye before he even got big because he was a YouTuber. He released songs like Happy Little Pill and Wild, both of which I thought were great. Then we got Youth, which was pretty big here on Hits 1 and that made me happy. Now we have My My My and I love this song for the same reason I loved Youth. It's a really cool song and it's a whole lot of fun. Every time I listened to it, it would get stuck in my head because it's so catchy. Troye Sivan is a great singer and he shows off his voice really nicely here. But when I watch that music video, I can tell he's having a lot of fun and it always makes me happy to see artists enjoying themselves with their music. This is something I'll revisit later, but overall, I think My My My is a great song that was severely underrated. It spent some time on Hits 1, though not a lot unfortunately. It definitely deserved more than it got because it is a great song and a great lead single for Bloom.

25. The Wrecks – James Dean
A lot of the non-hit songs Hits 1 picks up on are not usually that good. Most of them are kind of just there and nothing spectacular. James Dean is a gem. I don't know how they found this but I applaud them because this is a very great song. I love a good pop-rock song and James Dean is exactly that. The instrumentation is very good. The band sounds great, especially during that chorus. It's loud, it's energetic, and it's a whole lot of fun. The vocals here are great. I think his voice really fits this genre nicely. The song is incredibly catchy to the point where I'd be singing the chorus to myself because it easily gets stuck in my head. This is another song that I'd totally blast in the car because it's a great song to sing-along to. I knew it wouldn't last long on Hits 1. But it definitely deserved more success overall because it is top-notch in its genre. I love this song and I'm glad Hits 1 exposed me to it. I would love to hear what The Wrecks bring next because if it's anything like James Dean, I could totally see myself enjoying it.

24. The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar – Pray For Me
Last year, The Weeknd brought my #3 song of the year, I Feel It Coming. Then I believe 2016 is when I ranked Starboy. He released a couple of songs this year that I didn't all that much compared to other stuff he's done. But we also got Pray For Me taken from the Black Panther soundtrack, which is a very great song. I see similarities between this song and Starboy, which might be why I love it so much since I loved Starboy. I think everything about this song is great. The production is top-notch and one of the best things about the song. The Weeknd sounds fantastic in the verses and especially the chorus. I love his voice. Kendrick Lamar has a solid verse that flows really nicely. I don't like how Hits 1 edited out half of it because everything about his verse is great. He's definitely Top 3 for best rappers this decade. But yeah. Everything about Pray For Me is on point. I'm glad it was as successful as it was. Also, I applaud Kendrick Lamar for putting the entire Black Panther soundtrack together. I thought it was really good and Pray For Me was definitely a great single from it that deserved its success.

23. Niall Horan – On The Loose
Next we have a former One Direction member appearing on my Top 45 list for the second year in a row. Last year, he brought Slow Hands which I liked a reasonable amount. Now we have On The Loose which I would probably argue is actually his best song despite it not being his biggest. I was never actually in love with this song. But I was thought it was good and honestly, I can't think of anything wrong with it. It's a very enjoyable tune that Hits 1 picked up on. Niall sounds great. I think he has a nice voice. I love his path of acoustic-pop. On The Loose has great instrumentation and I absolutely love that guitar. It helps make the song as great as it is. Aside from that, On The Loose is a lot faster than his other songs that made it on to the Weekend Countdown. I believe there are two versions of this song, one of which being the alternate version, which I think is the radio edit and I'm guessing it just gets rid of the last minute of the song. I listen to the album version, which I think is better. But overall, it's a great song that deserved better outside of Hits 1. It had a very nice run on Hits 1, but just didn't get what it deserved elsewhere.

22. Louis Tomlinson – Miss You
After having Back To You and Just Hold On make my Top 45 list in 2017, Louis Tomlinson is back with Miss You. Louis is my personal favorite of the One Direction members. On top of being the best-looking, I like his style of electro-pop. We definitely saw that with Back To You. Miss You is probably his second best behind Back To You (even though he only has like four songs). But I find it very interesting and enjoyable. I love the song opens up into the first verse. The guitar sounds good. I love the guitar in the chorus and I think Louis really shows off his voice there. Another reason why he's my favorite One Direction member is that he has the best voice, which is probably an unpopular opinion. But that's just how I feel. I think he sounds great on this song and the production is solid. The lyrics are good. Everything about this song works for me. I enjoyed it much more than that other song he put out called Just Like You, which didn't really do much for me. I'm glad Hits 1 picked up on Miss You and it was severely underrated everywhere else despite being a great song. I'm still waiting for Louis' album, which probably won't be out for a while since he's been busy judging on The X Factor in the UK. But I would love to get one soon because I'm pretty damn sure it'll be great.

21. Maroon 5/SZA – What Lovers Do
I remember not liking this the first time I heard it back in 2017. Now it's easily the best song from Red Pill Blues, which was a messy album overall. It's very clear that Maroon 5 have done a lot better than this. What Lovers Do probably wouldn't even be Top 20 for my favorite Maroon 5 songs because there are just so many great songs from their earlier albums. But I do enjoy What Lovers Do for what it is, especially compared to the rest of the album. The production is very minimalistic (not sure if that's the right word), but I think it works well here. There's not a whole lot of band, but it doesn't bother here as much as it does on Don't Wanna Know and Wait. Adam Levine sounds pretty good for the most part. I love SZA's contribution. This song wouldn't be nearly as good if it weren't for her. Both of them sound good together and it's just a well put together song. It's a shame this got caught between years on Hits 1 because, like I said, it's the best song from Red Pill Blues. It's much better than Wait, which unfortunately was a bigger hit. But even though What Lovers Do missed Hits 1's year-end list and barely made Billboard's, it's still a great song in my opinion. I'm glad this one grew on me as quickly as it did.

20. The Struts/Kesha – Body Talks
I have loved this song ever since it made its debut on Hit-Bound. I noted before that I love a good pop-rock song and Body Talks is another example of that. Everything about this song is simply amazing. The Struts seem like a really cool band and they killed it with this song. The instrumentation is on point. Luke Spiller has a great voice that he puts to great use in this song. I love that they remade it with Kesha because I adore her as I mentioned earlier. I think she is an amazing fit for this type of song. She has the voice for it and she sounds great here. I love how both of their voices sound together. The chorus is great the way they alternate. This song is honestly just fantastic in every way. I'm so glad it managed to debut on the Weekend Countdown because I was starting to think it wouldn't. This is easily the best non-hit Hits 1 picked up on in 2018. It definitely deserved to be a hit because it's amazing and it has Kesha on it. But regardless, it made onto Hits 1 and was therefore eligible for this list. It seems to be doing pretty well on there right now, which is great. Hopefully it continues to do well. So yeah. I really love this and thank you, Hits 1, for picking up such a great song. This really deserved to be a hit.

19. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night)
I remember when this song was released the same day as (Fuck A) Silver Lining and I thought both of them were great, but I slightly favored Say Amen. Sure enough, Hits 1 picked up on it quickly and it became a massive hit on Hits 1 spending four weeks at #1. They've kind of had a thing with Panic! ever since Victorious was released and hit #1. Then we got a few more Death Of A Bachelor singles. Now we have Pray For The Wicked and Say Amen was definitely a Hits 1 favorite. There's definitely a lot to love about it. I initially didn't love the way it opens up, but I've grown into it and I think it sounds kind of cool. I love the chorus and how energetic it is. Brendon Urie sounds great. I love the production. The high note towards the end may seem a little unnecessary, but I like it and it shows how great of a range Brendon Urie has, which is not something I can about a lot of male artists. The music video was definitely very interesting. I'm not sure how it relates to the song, but it was an enjoyable watch either way. So yeah. I love everything about this song and I'm glad it was successful on Hits 1 even though it was underrated everywhere else. Panic! At The Disco deserve all the hits they can get because they have put out some great stuff including Say Amen.

18. Charlie Puth/Kehlani – Done For Me
There was definitely improvement for Charlie Puth going from Nine Track Mind to Voicenotes. I hated his earlier songs like One Call Away. But Voicenotes as a whole is definitely much better. From that album, we got Attention, which was great. We also got How Long, which was good but not as good. Then we got Done For Me, which is one of the best songs on that album. There's a lot to love about this one. The beat is great. Charlie Puth shows off his great voice nicely here. Once again, Puth handled the production himself and it sounds great. I love how he collaborated with Kehlani because I think she is one of the most talented and underrated singers in R&B right now. Just these past two years, she has been featured in many songs and has sounded great in all of them, including Done For Me. I love her verse. I think her voice blends really nicely with Charlie Puth's. Overall, this is the second best single from Voicenotes behind Attention. It's a shame that this wasn't as big of a hit as the first two singles from the album. It definitely deserved more than it got But I'm still glad it was released as a single. Hopefully Charlie Puth continues on this path for future releases because this is him at his best.

17. P!nk – Beautiful Trauma
In 2017, P!nk had my #4 favorite song of the year, What About Us. I still really adore that song because it's really nice and it's P!nk, one of the best female artists in music right now. This year, we got the follow-up single Beautiful Trauma, which wasn't exactly a big hit outside of Hits 1 unfortunately. But it's still a great song. It's little bit different from what we usually get from her. But I think it's very unique and I'm glad it was released as a single. I love how the song starts nice and slow before the beat comes in. Then it just gets really catchy from there. That chorus is very infectious with the repetition of "my love" and all that good stuff. It's a very enjoyable song. P!nk sounds great throughout all of it. She's one of my favorite female singers probably of all time and I think her voice shines here. Maybe not as great as What About Us. But considering that this is more upbeat, it definitely shines quite a bit. Now this isn't P!nk's best song by any means. Her older songs and Just Give Me A Reason are some of her best work. But P!nk rarely disappoints me. She's pretty consistent and Beautiful Trauma is another very solid track from her. I'm glad it spent on the Weekend Countdown on Hits 1 despite not being a massive hit because it's a great song.

16. Eminem/Ed Sheeran – River
It feels like this song is really old since it's from Revival and since then, Eminem released Kamikaze. But it debuted too late for me to include it in 2017, so here it is now. Although I did not love Revival, River was one of the stand outs along with Walk On Water featuring Beyoncé. Both of these songs are great. River is a nice song overall. I think Eminem's verses are solid and they flow pretty nicely. I like the production. Ed Sheeran gives us a great chorus and the instrumentation there is pretty solid. It's obviously nowhere near Eminem's best. But I really enjoyed it and I still do. Personally Eminem is my all time favorite rapper and holds the honor of having made my favorite song of all time. So I kind of have high expectations for him and River meets those expectations. It's definitely one of the most interesting songs from Revival and I do wish it had better success since it's one of the few good songs from that album. But it still didn't do horribly on the countdown fortunately even though it left kinda soon and from a high position. But I enjoy the song and I'm glad it was a single. Everything about it is great in my opinion.

15. Fall Out Boy – The Last Of The Real Ones
MANIA was a very shitty album as a whole. But from that album, we got a great single by the name of The Last Of The Real Ones. Last year, I put out a year-end post where I acknowledged the best songs of 2017 that failed to make it to Hits 1. I believe I included The Last Of The Real Ones on there. But here it is on the countdown in 2018 going into 2019. This is easily the best song from the album for obvious reasons. The little piano opening is really good. The instrumentation is solid all throughout the song and the production is great. Patrick Stump shows off his voice in a really good way that's not grating like it is on some of the other songs from MANIA. The Last Of The Real Ones is fast and upbeat with great production and great vocals. I've loved it ever since I first listened to it and I'm glad it got so big on Hits 1 even though it's not a hit anywhere else. This song even hit #1, which I did not see coming, but I'm glad. This is definitely the best Fall Out Boy we've had in a while and I'm totally cool with it sticking around on the countdown longer as it's still in the Top 10 I think. So it'll be on Hits 1 for another few months. But I'm glad it got big there because it's a great song and a win for Fall Out Boy.

14. Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper – Shallow
Taken from the A Star Is Born soundtrack, we have Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper with Shallow, a song that I didn't love at first. But it definitely grew on me. There are a lot of things to love about this song. The guitar sounds great. I think it was put to very good use. Bradley Cooper handled the first verse very nicely. I never imagined him as a singer but he actually has a great voice compared to some people who have been in music industry longer. Lady Gaga sounds fantastic as always. She's one of the most iconic female artists in my opinion. Just about everything she does is great (except for that Joanne lead single that we do not speak of). She definitely sounds great in her voice and she has great chemistry with Bradley Cooper. Both of their voices sound great together. The final chorus is honestly divine in every sense of the word. Like seriously. It is fantastic. I love this song and I really wish it did better on Hits 1. It dropped out sooner than I thought it would unfortunately. But it will remain as one of the best songs of 2018. I'll remember for months and maybe even years to come. It really is a great song and I'm sure it'll take home some Grammys in 2019 because it is nominated for quite a few.

13. Selena Gomez – Back To You
I've definitely been pretty mixed Selena Gomez's music in recent years. I hated the Revival singles in 2016. Bad Liar was my #1 least favorite song on Hits 1 in 2017. But at the same time, her feature in Kygo's song It Ain't Me helped get it to be my #1 favorite song of 2017. So she is indeed very talented. She just has a few bad songs for some reason. Late year, she brought Wolves which I liked at first. But then I realized it wasn't really that great. It's still better than Bad Liar but it's not that memorable and I strongly prefer It Ain't Me. I also prefer Back To You, which is from the soundtrack for the second season of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. There are a few other good songs on there that I'll talk about my next year-end post. But Back To You is her best song as lead artist since Come & Get It. I absolutely love the guitar opening. Selena Gomez sounds pretty good in the verses, but she sounds great in the chorus. I think the drop is really catchy. It's a really nice song overall and easily the better of her two 2018 hits. I believe this peaked at #2 on Hits 1 and had some great longevity, which is very good. This song definitely deserved to be as big of a hit as it was and I'm glad the good Selena is back after so long of trashy whispering Selena.

12. Keala Settle/The Greatest Showman Ensemble – This Is Me
This is probably an unpopular opinion among my fellow Blogger friends, but I thought the soundtrack for The Greatest Showman was one of the best albums I've heard this year. I don't usually like these kinds of musical-type movies and soundtracks. But I loved this soundtrack for some reason. There's a lot of great songs on there, one or two of which I'll talk about in my next year-end post. But right now, we have This Is Me, which is the only song from the soundtrack that made it onto the countdown. I honestly love everything about this song. I really like the lyrics and the self-empowerment theme. The production is great giving the song a cool anthemic vibe. I can feel the words as they're being sung. Keala Settle has a phenomenal voice. I don't think I've ever heard anyone who can belt out with that much power and it just gives me chills. The way she hits those high notes at the end is amazing. She is an incredible singer and made this song as amazing as it is. I've heard Kesha's version of this song, but Keala's voice is on another level. Overall, I love this song. I think it's really cool that it managed to make it onto the Weekend Countdown even though it didn't last long. Chart success or not, this song is great. And it's not even the best from the soundtrack. More on that in the next year-end post.

11. Dan + Shay – Tequila
I tried to find room for this in the Top 10, but the competition was really tough this year. There were a lot of great songs, with Tequila definitely being one of them. I've heard a lot of solid country songs in 2018. Tequila is probably my favorite. It's either that or Marry Me by Thomas Rhett, which was not on Hits 1 for the record. But honestly, I'd argue Dan + Shay are one of the best things to happen to country music. They bring great songs to the table including this one. Tequila is a very nice song the way it opens up with the piano. It was very well-produced in a way that you can feel what the song is going for because of the vibe it gives off. It's a song about heartbreak and I can definitely feel that without even listening to any of the words. It's also very well-written. I like the lyrics. The song is slow, but it's nice. I love a good slow song. The vocals are great. I think these guys have great voices. I love that last chorus. Honestly, everything about this song was done so well and I'm so glad that it was a hit not only on the Billboard Hot 100, but also on Hits 1. I did not think they would ever pick up a Dan + Shay song. But they did and it's really great. I'm so glad this was successful and I hope Dan + Shay keep making these great songs. Tequila is something I can definitely see myself coming back to.




With that, we will now be entering the Top 10. These ten songs you're about to see are the songs that stood out the most in 2018. I've listened to each and every one of them about a thousand times and I've done a shuffling with the songs and their positions. But I've made the final decisions and I believe each song is worthy of being where it is. So let's get into the Top 10 starting with #10.

10. Kendrick Lamar, SZA – All The Stars
Although I said Eminem is probably my favorite rapper of all time, Kendrick Lamar sits firmly at #2. This man has impressed me a lot in recent years. In 2018, he produced the soundtrack for Black Panther, one of the biggest movies of the year, and it was a very solid album. I applaud Kendrick for his work with it because he did a very nice job. From that soundtrack is the lead single All The Stars, a collaboration with SZA. This is a top-notch track that deserved all the success it received. I honestly see no flaws with it. Kendrick Lamar has a solid verse that flows very nicely. SZA absolutely steals the show with the awesome chorus and her great verse. I really love her voice. I think she is very underrated. Her album Ctrl was really good and it shows that she is very talented, which also shows on All The Stars. She was a fantastic choice for this song as her voice just fits in very nicely with the vibe of the song. I may not understand every word she is saying, but that doesn't bother me in the slightest and I still think she sounds great. The visuals in the music video for this song are absolutely stunning. It is hands-down one of the best music videos I've seen this year. It's very beautiful and well-shot. The song is incredible. I'm so happy that it got nominated for Grammys including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. I hope it wins a few because it really deserves it. This is a fantastic song.

9. Backstreet Boys – Don't Go Breaking My Heart
I consider myself a fan of the Backstreet Boys having enjoyed some of their biggest hits like I Want It That Way and Everybody (Backstreet's Back). Those are definitely classics. I remember the day this came out and it was #1 on iTunes. I listened to it for the first time and thought, "Backstreet's back all right!" I loved it from the first listen and I was so happy to see them putting out new music. Don't Go Breaking My Heart is an example of a fun pop song. I love the piano opening. The verses are nice and I love that chorus. These guys still have great voices. The songwriting is great. The track was very well-produced. It's an incredibly catchy song that can get stuck in one's head. It's a great song to sing along to. Honestly I love everything about this song and I'm so happy to see these guys back. They're incredibly talented. I've seen them perform this live at a couple award shows and I love their choreography. I love a boy band who can sing and dance. It's a shame this song wasn't as big of a hit as I thought it would be. It was pretty big on Hits 1 thankfully peaking at #3, which makes me very happy because this song deserves it. It's a really great song. Backstreet Boys are incredibly talented. They have a new album coming out in 2019 called DNA, which I am looking forward. So far it has two great songs available. But yeah. Don't Go Breaking My Heart was underrated, but is fantastic.

8. Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes
I was already looking forward to what Pray For The Wicked had to offer after we got Silver Lining and Say Amen, two great songs. Then we got High Hopes, which I immediately loved after listening to it for the first time. It's very upbeat. The trumpets are very loud, but they sound great in High Hopes unlike some other songs (*cough* Burn The House Down *cough*). They actually fit really nicely in High Hopes and the song just simply wouldn't be as great without them. I really like the lyrics and what the song is about. The chorus is a lot of fun. Brendon Urie sounds fantastic. I really love his voice and he shows it off very nicely on High Hopes. When this debuted on Hit-Bound, I knew it would become a hit on Hits 1 given the success of the Death Of A Bachelor singles as well as Say Amen. Little did I know that it would soon become their biggest hit to date surpassing I Write Sins Not Tragedies and peaking at #5 on Billboard Hot 100. It's been doing great on sales and radio fell in love with it. I never realized it would become this big of a hit, but it makes me very happy because Panic! At The Disco deserve this. They're incredibly talented and they deserve all the hits they can get. This spent 8 weeks at #1 on Hits 1, which is fantastic. This is probably my song of the summer even though it got big a little bit later. But I was definitely jamming to it over the summer. Overall, I love this and I'm so happy it became a hit. I'm also happy to announce that I'll be seeing Panic! At The Disco live during the Pray For The Wicked tour in February! So I'm excited for that.

7. Demi Lovato – Tell Me You Love Me
Along with The Last Of The Real Ones, I also included Tell Me You Love Me in the Best Songs of 2017 That Missed Hits 1 post. I've always found Demi Lovato to be incredibly talented. She has some great songs like Give Your Heart A Break, Really Don't Care, Made In The USA, Cool For The Summer, etc. Heart Attack has always been my favorite song from her and it was definitely a highlight from 2013. Last year, we got Sorry Not Sorry, which I hated. I'd argue it's her worst song, or at least her worst hit. There was just a lot wrong with that one with her screaming in the chorus and messy production. But then came the title track from her latest album and I was reminded of why I think Demi Lovato is extremely talented. Tell Me You Love Me is a fantastic song in just about every way. I absolutely love the opening horns. They sound great and not annoying (take more notes, AJR). I love the way she sings the first verse and builds up into the chorus. She sounds fantastic in the chorus and I love the gospel-like production with all the hand claps and the horns returning. Demi sounds amazing all throughout the song, especially in that last chorus. The lyrics are good. I feel like Sorry Not Sorry was an overproduced mess that was all over the place, but Tell Me You Love Me is a lot more organized in a way that makes it a very enjoyable listen compared to its predecessor. Honestly I can't see why anyone would find Sorry Not Sorry a better song than this one. In fact, Tell Me You Love Me is, in my opinion, her best song since Heart Attack. It's Top 5 for her best songs and easily the best from her latest album. It's a shame this wasn't as big as its predecessor, but it did pretty good on Hits at least. This song is amazing and I do hope she is recovering from her overdose situation earlier this year.

6. Bad Wolves – Zombie
I feel like this review will be full of a bunch of hot takes and unpopular opinions. Early this year, Bad Wolves released their cover of Zombie by The Cranberries just days after the passing of Dolores O'Riordan. Originally, she was supposed to record vocals with Bad Wolves, but passed away before doing it. So they released this as a tribute. I know a lot of people don't love covers of old songs and I usually don't either. But I really liked this the first time I heard it and it really only got better. I kind of like what they did to the song by making it more heavy, hard-rock. The lyrics are unchanged for the most part. Tommy Vext sounds great. Anyone who does not listen to metal would probably just say he's yelling even though he sings in the verses. But I think it sounds great. I can feel the song's emotion in his voice. The instrumentation is fantastic the way the song gets louder in the chorus. The guitar solo sounds really good. I like the piano we hear in the beginning and during the verses. I really like the music video. Like I said, I don't usually like covers, but this is the best cover of a song I've heard in a while. I know people will disagree with me, but I think Bad Wolves did the song justice. I'm sure it's what Dolores O'Riordan would've wanted. This peaked in the Top 10 on Hits 1 which is very impressive. Despite that, I thought this was underrated. In my opinion, it is a fantastic cover and while I might not know much about Bad Wolves, I thought this was very impressive. I'd by lying if I said I didn't consider putting this at #1.




We now move into the Top 5. Along with Zombie, every song in the Top 5 I considered putting at #1 and they all had a great shot at it. But decisions had to be made and I'm pretty sure I made the right ones with these five. I love all of them, but I refuse to have songs be tied for the top. So here we go.

5. Foster The People – Sit Next To Me
A song that was released in 2017, but got big in 2018. I don't remember caring much for this song when it debuted on Hit-Bound. But I slowly grew to really love it. Foster The People have not had many, if any, hits after Pumped Up Kicks got big in 2011 I believe. I remember really liking that song and then I kind of forgot about them. Then we got Sit Next To Me and it reminded me of why I like Foster The People and their previous massive hit. Sit Next To Me is a very enjoyable song with a very cool intro leading into the first verse. I love the chorus and I think it's extremely catchy. The backing vocals sound great. I really like the production. Mark Foster shows off his voice really nicely, more than he did in Pumped Up Kicks. It's one of those songs that just always puts me in a good mood no matter what kind of day I'm having. It's a really nice little indie-pop song that I'm glad was successful. This peaked at #6 on the Weekend Countdown, which is great since I was having doubts that it would even debut. Sure enough, this was a hit on Hits 1 and it did pretty good outside of Hits 1 as well. While it did make Hits 1's year-end list and I'll talk more about that in a future year-end post, it unfortunately missed the Billboard Year-End Hot 100, though probably not by much. I'm still impressed with how it did though overall. Personally, I think Sit Next To Me is better than Pumped Up Kicks. I liked that song, but I don't think I liked it nearly as much as I love Sit Next To Me. Maybe it's because 2018 was weak compared to 2011. But either way, this song is really great and I'm really glad it became another hit for the band even if it wasn't as big.

4. Macklemore/Kesha – Good Old Days
Here we have two artists who appeared in my Top 10 in 2017 coming together for this beauty. Good Old Days is honestly just amazing in every way possible. Macklemore brought Glorious last year, which was a very great song and a cool lead single to his album Gemini. Then we got Good Old Days as the follow-up and I was just as impressed with that one as I was with Glorious. Glorious was upbeat and cool. But Good Old Days is honestly beautiful. I love the piano and the beat in the verses is really nice. Macklemore has shown that he not only has great rapping skills in fast songs like Can't Hold Us, but he can also do a nice job with a slower ballad like Good Old Days. His verses flow really nicely. Kesha makes a great contribution as well. This is the second year in a row where she appears in my Top 5 and honestly, why wouldn't she? She is just incredible as an artist and as a person. I adore her and she sounds fantastic on this song. I love her chorus. The songwriting here was very well-done and I love the lyrics as the song is about growing older and looking back on life and your regrets, but also your accomplishments. I think that's a beautiful message with the really nice production. Beautiful is the first word that comes to mind when describing this song because that's honestly what it is. It was pretty underrated for the most part except on Hits 1, where it spent a week at #1 before that shitty Zedd song came in. But I'm very glad it was a hit on there and it definitely deserved more than it got because the song is amazing in every way. I never pictured a Macklemore and Kesha collaboration, but I'm so glad it happened.

3. Justin Timberlake/Chris Stapleton – Say Something
I consider Justin Timberlake to be one of my favorite male artists. He's definitely put out a lot of great songs in the past and we can definitely add Say Something to that list. The Man Of The Woods era overall was pretty interesting. First we got Filthy, which to this day I am still indifferent on. Then we got Supplies, which sucked quite a bit. I probably would've included it in my Worst Songs of 2018 post if it weren't for all the awful rap. But then I heard Say Something and I thought, "Wow this is pretty good." I gave it more listens and it only got better from there. I did not enjoy Man Of The Woods as a whole aside from a few songs, including Say Something. Judging by the album cover and how Timberlake described the album, I assumed it would consist of a bunch of pop-country crossover-type songs. Say Something ended up being one of the few songs on that album that went that route and sounded great. I love how the song opens up leading into the guitar, which sounds great all throughout the song. Justin Timberlake sounds great in his verse and I love Chris Stapleton's verse as well. Then it's like magic when they come together for the chorus. Their voices blend together so nicely and I love the whole country vibe the song gives off. The chorus may seem a little repetitive, but that doesn't bother me. I still really enjoy it because Timberlake and Stapleton sound fantastic and the instrumentation is great. The song is about four and a half minutes long, but it doesn't even feel that long to me because I love every second of it. This was very underrated on Hits 1 spending only one week in the Top 20. It did pretty decent everywhere else though as it did manage to make the Billboard Year-End Hot 100. It definitely deserved more than it got though. I still think it was pretty underrated overall. But despite that, I really love it and I'm glad it was a single because it's easily the best song on the album. I would not object to these two collaborating again sometime in the future because this really worked out great.

2. Shawn Mendes – In My Blood
To some, this may seem like me stanning Shawn Mendes. You can think whatever you want, but I genuinely love In My Blood. I have been a fan of him for quite a while. It was ever since Life Of The Party was released in 2014. Then we got Something Big and his album Handwritten. Then came Illuminate with a few singles that didn't really stand out all too much to me. Now we get his self-titled with this song as the lead single. In my opinion, I think In My Blood is Shawn Mendes' best song. It's interesting though, because I remember being pretty critical of it when I first heard it. I may have said it was good, but I didn't love it. There may have even been in a point where I had it in blue. But over time, I started to get a better understanding of what this song is and how it shows how much Shawn has matured through his music. I like how the song starts immediately with the first verse with the guitar and Shawn's vocals. I also love how it builds up during the verse leading into that great chorus. The instrumentation is definitely very strong in this song. I think the songwriting has also improved from songs like Treat You Better. The lyrics in In My Blood are really good as I believe the song touches on the issue of anxiety. It really shows Shawn's talent as a songwriter. Not only that, but Shawn also shows his talent as a vocalist. I think this is his best vocal performance out of all the singles we've gotten from him. The way he sings the verses is really nice and he can still belt out that chorus in a way that sounds great and shows how talented he is as a singer. I really like his voice and I think he sounds great, especially in the chorus. I love the way the song closes out. It's a very cool song and I can definitely feel the emotion. I love the song's music video (and no, not just because it's centered around Shawn). As simplistic as it is, I still feel like it conveys the song's message. It's very beautiful the way it ends. So yeah. I really love this and I think it's his best work. I'm glad it was as big as it got. Even though it never appeared in my weekly Top 5 Picks, I still strongly believe In My Blood is one of the best songs of the year and it definitely had a shot at #1. I can definitely see myself coming back to this. Well done, Shawn. You really impressed me with this one. And hey, it even got nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammys.

1. Walk The Moon – One Foot
I remember enjoying this song when it first debuted on Hit-Bound back in November of 2017, but I didn't think it was anything special. Now here we are. One Foot truly is the best song of 2018. During the time it was on Hit-Bound, I was practically begging for it to debut because of how amazing it was. It ended up debuting in late December and I was thrilled because this song is honestly perfection. Walk The Moon are known for putting out jams like this and Shut Up and Dance, which was Hits 1's biggest song of 2015. Whenever I hear those first few seconds of One Foot, I instantly get a smile on my face because I know I'm going to enjoy the next four minutes. The verses are really good. But then we get into that chorus, which is incredibly catchy. The drop is amazing and it's a lot better than what actual EDM producers have been making this past year. But as soon as the drop comes in, I just want to get up and dance. It really is amazing. The band sounds great. The production is phenomenal. Nick Petricca has some great vocals. I think his voice really fits this style. This song is an absolute jam. It always puts me in a great mood because of how upbeat and fun it is. I truly adore everything about it. When I listen to this song and watch the music video, I can tell that everyone, especially Nick Petricca, is having a blast and I love when artists have fun with their own music. That happiness rubs off on me and just makes me enjoy this even more. I've listened to this probably a million times, and every time it just put me in a really great mood. It's an absolute banger and I adore it for that. I really wish this wasn't so underrated for the most part. It was pretty successful on Hits 1. It did get snubbed from hitting #1 though because of The Middle, which is absolutely infuriating. But regardless, it was still successful on Hits 1 and deserved more success everywhere else. Shut Up and Dance was a pretty big hit for Walk The Moon and they definitely deserved another. I believe One Foot is their best song because it is a banger and a jam that I wish more people knew about. Either way, Hits 1 picked up on it and as a result, it is the best song of the year. I really adore One Foot and I'm so glad it exists because I will definitely be coming back to this in the future. Walk The Moon really did it for me this time and I would love to see them have another hit in the future. It'll be hard to top One Foot, but knowing what they're capable of, I'm sure I'll enjoy whatever they put out in the future.




And that's a wrap! Those were my Top 45 Songs of 2018! I feel like the #1 was a bit predictable, but I really love it and I kinda had to put it at #1. Though the competition was really tough this year as every song in the Top 6 had a chance at being #1. But anyway, those of you who actually read the whole thing, you guys are amazing because I spent a lot of time on this and I really put my heart into it. So thank you guys. I really appreciate it. I might try to make a Spotify playlist of all the songs in the near future like I did last year. We'll see.


Feel free to comment what you thought and your opinions on this list. Keep in mind that this was entirely my opinion as these were my favorite songs of the year. As far as future posts go, I'm taking a short break with year-end posts and my next one will probably be out next week. That's where I will talk about the best songs of 2018 outside of Hits 1. Then next in line will be my review of Hits 1's Top 45 of 2018 followed by my review of the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 for 2018. So some good stuff is coming up. Like I said, thank you for reading. 2018 was an interesting year and I look forward to what 2019 will bring! With that, I will see you all soon. Happy New Year everyone!