Today I will be writing to you about my top 10 favorite hit
songs of 2015. I love listening to music review vlogs on Youtube about this
topic whenever the year ends and I’ve always wanted to do my own. Yes it is June
2016 and no one cares anymore - but I care and I’m going to enjoy making this
list. (Look at the end of this post to see my favorite Youtubers who also
make similar videos).
The Rules
The rules are simple – in order for a song to be on this
list it has to be listed on Billboard’s Hot 100 End of the Year List. To access
the list yourself, please click this link.
So let’s get started:
10) Hello – by Adele
2015 will always be the year Adele made her comeback so this
song HAD to be on my list. I love Adele. She writes and sings deep and
thoughtful songs that I appreciate –AND she does it with a strong, beautiful
voice.
Favorite Lyrics: “It's
no secret that the both of us are running out of time.” I like this lyric
because it’s haunting. It’s just such a tragic thing to run out of time. You
can never get that time back and there is just this feeling of longing and
regret that I really like.
9) Style – by Taylor Swift
I’ve got to be honest, I’m a HUGE Taylor Swift fan so that
obviously taints my perception a little bit. But this song is great. I love
listening to it while driving, it has a nice 80s feel, and is just a flowy nice
jam.
Favorite Lyrics: “Could end in burning flames or paradise.”
The relationship Taylor Swift is describing is a little dangerous but that’s
what makes it so exciting and so filled with passion. In Style,
Taylor Swift describes the relationship as always changing and unstable. She
doesn’t know if the relationship will work out – will they fall madly in love
or will the relationship just destroy her heart into a million pieces. She
doesn’t know – but what she does know she is having fun and that’s all that
matters for now.
8) Downtown – by Macklemore
I don’t think many people liked this song as much as I did.
I just think it’s just soooooo funny. I loved Thrift Shop as well and I like
this as a follow up to it. I also like how the rap portions and the singing
portions of the song flow in and out of each other effectively. Many people
critique this song by saying it’s too all over the place. This is true, but
that’s actually what sells this song to me. I LOVE that’s it’s all over the
place. Randomness and chaos done well is one of my favorite things. I also
REALLY like the voice of Eric Nally- who sings “DOWNTOWN” in the chorus. He has a great rock voice, and I just LOVE his
vocals.
Favorite Lyrics: “Neighbors yelling at me like, ‘You need to
slow down.’/Going thirty-eight, Dan, chill the fuck out/Mow your damn lawn and
sit the hell down.” I love it – super hilarious. “She has her arms around your
waist/With a balance that could keep us safe.” There is something oddly comforting
and loving about that line while still being humorous.
7) Back to Back – by Drake
Oh this song will always have a special place in my heart. As
a person who spends 2 hours a day in the car, I loved opening up the radio
every day to Hot 97 and Power 105.1 and listening to the next saga in the Drake
VS Meek Mill feud.
Drake did a fabulous job with this song. It’s like he knew
the first song he released “Charged Up” was not that great. (I had to look up the name because it was so unmemorable).
I don’t know if it was true or not that Drake had a ghost writer, but if he
wrote this song by himself then I am willing to forgive him. Musically, I feel
like this song sounds too much like 0 to 100 but then again 0 to 100 is the
song that made me truly start liking rap music so that’s why I like how this
song sounds.
I feel like I can write an entire post on this song – and maybe
I will later on in my music reviewing journey to document my thoughts and
feelings about this feud.
Favorite Lyrics: “Is that a
world tour or your girl's tour?”
6) EX'S & OH’s – by Elle King
This song is clever. Because when you hear it you think of,
“xoxo” which means hugs and kisses but Elle King does this beautiful play on
words that I really like. “X’s” become “Ex’s” as in ex-girlfriends or
boyfriends, and “O’s” become….well…you know. I really like this song because
it’s very empowering and confident. The lyrics are sassy, the production is sassy
– I just love sassiness in my songs.
5) Ghost – by Ella Henderson
I am surprised at how so many
music critics don’t love this song as much as I do. I love how the music is
just as haunting as the lyrics. I don’t know if it’s the music video, but when
I listen to this song, I do get the feeling of being chased by something and I
like how this song can evoke such a powerful emotion in me.
Favorite Lyrics: “I keep going to the river to pray/'Cause I
need something that can wash out the pain/And at most I'm sleeping all these
demons away/But your ghost, the ghost of you/It keeps me awake” The lyrics of
this song are deep, well-constructed, and haunting.
4) 679 – by Fetty Wap
2015 was also a great year for Fetty
Wap. I like Trap Queen a lot – it had fun lyrics and a great beat. I put 679 as
better than Trap Queen maybe just because it wasn’t as overplayed and also because
it had better music behind it. I am excited to see more stuff by him.
Favorite Lyrics: “And I got this sowed up.” I thought about
this line a lot. It sounds like “And I got this soda,” but I knew it couldn’t
be right. LOL
3) Shut Up and Dance with Me – by Walk the Moon
This song is pure happiness. It’s energetic,
it’s fun, it’s a love song - it’s great. I feel like this is another case of 80s
inspired pop that’s a hit. I’m glad this song got famous and so high on the
Billboard list. The lyrics paint a picture of this guy who is so serious about
the relationship, while the girl just tells him to enjoy what they have in the
moment and “shut up and dance with me.” I also like when they sing “she took my
arm,” and it does have a punching sound behind it. Also, I have to say I really
like the woman in the Shut Up and Dance With Me music video – she’s a star!
Favorite Lyrics: “We were victims of the night/The chemical,
physical, kryptonite/Helpless to the bass and the fading light.”
It’s a nice image.
2) Blank Space – by Taylor Swift
“Taylor Swift Again?!?!?!” you exclaim. “You’re bias
is showing.” It might be, but I love this song. When 1989 came out, this was
the song I played over and over and over again. In 2014 mostly, but it’s still
on the 2015 charts so I will still put it on this list. The lyrics of this song
are a MASTERPIECE. And the music behind it isn’t half bad. Get Ready – because the
‘Favorite Lyrics’ portion of this song is going to be long.
Favorite Lyrics
“I can make the bad guys good for a weekend.” It’s
very similar to how douchebags in songs say, “I can make the good girls go bad.”
From a feminist perspective, I like how Taylor Swift turned this trope in the
music industry around.
“You can tell me when it's over/If the high was worth
the pain.”
“Find out what you want/Be that girl for a month.”
This is an interesting way for Taylor Swift to show how crazy the character she
invented it.
“Cause darling, I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream.”
I like the dichotomy of nightmare/daydream.
“Boys only want love if it's torture.” Once again,
this flips the script. Sexist douchebags like to say that women only like jerks
which isn’t true. ALL humans like jerks. LOL.
This song is about how the media portrays Taylor Swift in a
crazy light. And I agree that the media does over-exaggerate Taylor Swift’s
love life just because she’s a women and society is sexist. But these beautiful
lyrics have to come from somewhere, and despite her portraying a crazy character,
many of these lyrics are relatable.
And now for some Honorable Mentions:
Tuesday - by IOVEMAKONNEN (feat. Drake): This song has a nice slow vibe. I love quoting it whenever someone mentions they had fun at a Tuesday Night.
Chandelier – by Sia: One of my all-time favorite songs. It would definitely be in my top 10 in 2014. I just didn’t include it in this list because I see it more as a 2014 song. I love it – great lyrics that describe addiction.
Trap Queen by Fetty Wap: Fun song. Lost to 679 to be on the list.
See You Again by Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth: It’s a pretty touching song. I had beef with this song because it stopped my number 1 song of 2015 (which will be revealed soon!) from beating a billboard record (sorry if this revealed my number 1 song by saying this). But I graduated in 2015 so I gotta put this in Honorable Mention. Great graduation song.
Take Me to Church by Hozier: Good job, Hozier.
Wildest Dreams – by Taylor Swift: Taylor Swift bias again but it’s my blog so I do what I want. Great song about wanting to be remembered after a relationship.
Lean On – by Major Lazer & DJ Snake: great beats, great vocals.
And now to my number 1 favorite song of 2015:
1) Uptown Funk – by Mark Ronson Feat. Bruno Mars: Not a surprising pick for number one. But let’s be real: there is no way this song isn’t the number one song of 2015. When I first heard this song I was like this is it, I have finally found the song that will end all songs (I am very dramatic). Have you ever heard a song that was so perfect, so good. Uptown Funk is that song for me. It’s fun, energetic, danceable beat. I absolutely love it.
It was number one for 14 weeks on the Billboard charts. It almost beat the billboard record for being number one the longest time but sadly See You Again took it away from them. See You Again is good but NOTHING compared to Uptown Funk.
Favorite Lyrics: “I'm too hot (hot damn)/Make a dragon wanna retire man.” I just like the hot/dragon analogy. I also like how this song is rooted in self-love which makes it a happy song to listen to.
Thanks for reading my incredibly long blog post. I enjoyed reflecting on the past year!
Some of my favorite Youtubers who Review Music
ToddintheShadows
ARTV
ACriticNamedKevin
Spectrum Pulse
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