By Ayeza Shaur
The end of the year grants the perfect opportunity to reflect on some musical hits of the year! The Billboard Year-End Charts rank music relative to their performance streaming across all platforms and for all genres. From these hot 100 songs, let’s take a look at the top ten songs of 2023!
10. “I’m Good (Blue)” by David Guetta & Bebe Rexha
If you played the radio at least once this year, you certainly have heard this tune. The catchy Pop tune was originally released in August of 2022, but quickly rose to popularity, easily making it in the Hot 100. The song also made its way onto Bebe Rexha’s 2023 album, Bebe.
9. “Snooze” by SZA
With the release of her new album, SOS, SZA’s music quickly reached the charts this year. The album was first on Billboard charts for ten weeks, making it the longest running female album of the decade in first place.
8. “Fast Car” by Luke Combs
Released in March 2023, Combs’ cover of the famous Tracy Chapman song quickly gained popularity. This release was not a surprise given his constant covers of the song during his shows. He officially released the cover as a part of his album, Gettin’ Old. Since then, his cover has surpassed over 300 million streams on Spotify.
7. “Die For You (Remix)” by The Weeknd and Ariana Grande
Early this year, The Weeknd’s 2016 song, “Die For You”, suddenly regained popularity on TikTok. As a result, he decided to create a remix of the popular song featuring Ariana Grande. Popstar Ariana Grande was on a music break as she was focusing on filming for the Wicked movies. Her sudden decision to write a verse for The Weeknd’s song shocked listeners, keeping them excited for new music from Grande. Since the release, the remix has surpassed over 700 million listens on Spotify.
6. “Calm Down” by Rema & Selena Gomez
In 2022, Rema released the original version of the song, “Calm Down” on his debut album, Rave & Roses. This song was produced by Nigerian native Andre Vibez, and it utilizes the signature style of Afro Rave–a play on hip hop and Afrobeats. Due to this taking off in the Afrobeats charts, Rema knew he wanted to make the most of the song’s popularity and requested Selena Gomez to feature on the song. The song immediately blew up, and Rema plans to give back to Nigeria and emphasize this traditional style of music in our daily lives.
5. “Creepin’” by Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, & 21 Savage
Released at the end of 2022, “Creepin’” quickly became a hit – securing its spot as number one on Billboard charts early this year. The collaboration with The Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Metro Boomin appeared on Metro Boomin’s 2022 album, HEROES AND VILLAINS. The song is a remake of “I Don’t Wanna Know” (2004) by Mario Winans. With over 1.1 billion streams on Spotify, it was no surprise to see this song make the top five songs of 2023.
4. “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift
Following her 10th studio album, Midnights, Swift’s single “Anti-Hero” quickly became a fan favorite. With lyrics revealing her insecurities, Swift lightheartedly captures these difficult feelings. With the catchy chorus, “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me,” the song quickly became popular across social media and radio stations. The music video is also directed by Swift and gained over 177 million views on YouTube. The song easily gained its “Billion’s Club” status on Spotify, with over 1.2 billion streams.
3. “Kill Bill” by SZA
This song marks the second song in SZA’s album, SOS, to make this list! Instantly a fan favorite, the second track of SZA’s 2022 album was a success. This was her first No. 1 song on the Billboard Global 200. Additionally, it has earned 3 Grammy nominations. The song first blew up on TikTok following the release due to its captivating chorus where she says, “I might kill my ex, not the best idea.” In an interview with Bob Bisel, her co-producer and co-writer, it is revealed that the multi-talented artist wrote the song in only an hour and was hesitant to release it due to the intense lyrics. However, we know it was clearly a success!
2. “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus
In second place, we have the iconic opening track, “Flowers”, from Miley Cyrus’ 2023 studio album, Endless Summer Vacation. This hit remained at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for 8 weeks, and broke Spotify’s record for most streams in a single week. Currently, the song has over 1.6 billion streams on Spotify. The song overviews themes of self love and independence, leading many listeners to speculate the song is targeting her ex-husband, Liam Hemsworth. To build on this theory, the song was released on his birthday. Additionally, the song references lyrics from Bruno Mars’ 2012 hit, “When I Was Your Man”.
1. “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen
Last, but not least, we have the 2023 top song according to Billboard: “Last Night”. Released in March 2023, the song was instantly a hit. Although a country song, the song stuck with all listeners this year, making it the top Billboard song. Additionally, Wallen’s album, One Thing At a Time, had the largest streaming week ever for a country album.
