In a special year-end edition of ‘What the Kids are Listening To,’ I will spend the next two weeks looking at the Billboard Hot 100 singles for all of 2022.
If I did my job right last year, most of the songs at the top of the Hot 100 will have already appeared on the blog. And indeed that turns out to be the case. The first single on the chart to not yet show up as a Song of the Day is all the way down at #27. I’ll list the first 26 before getting to that one.
#1. ‘Heat Waves‘ – Glass Animals
#2. ‘As It Was‘ – Harry Styles
#3. ‘Stay‘ = The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber
#4. ‘Easy On Me‘ – Adele
#5. ‘Shivers‘ – Ed Sheeran
#6. ‘First Class‘ – Jack Harlow
#7. ‘Big Energy‘ – Latto
#8. ‘Ghost‘ – Justin Bieber
#9. ‘Super Gremlin‘ – Kodak Black
#10. ‘Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)‘ – Elton John & Dua Lipa
#11. ‘Wait For U‘ = Future Featuring Drake & Tems
#12. ‘About Damn Time‘ – Lizzo
#13. ‘Bad Habits‘ – Ed Sheeran
#14. ‘That’s What I Want‘ – Lil Nas X
#15. ‘Enemy‘ – Imagine Dragons X JID
#16. ‘Industry Baby‘ – Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow
#17. ‘abcdefu‘ – GAYLE
#18. ‘Need to Know‘ – Doja Cat
#19. ‘Wasted On You‘ – Morgan Wallen
#20. ‘Me Porto Bonito‘ – Bad Bunny & Chencho Corelone
#21. ‘Woman‘ – Doja Cat
#22. ‘Titi Me Pregunto‘ – Bad Bunny
#23. ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)‘ – Kate Bush
#24. ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno‘ – Encanto cast
#25. ‘Late Night Talking‘ – Harry Styles
#26. ‘I Like You (A Happier Song)‘ – Post Malone feat. Doja Cat
Coming in at #27 is another track by country star Morgan Wallen, his second in the top 30.
‘You Proof’ is a quintessential bro country track, with Wallen singing about drinking heavily to drown the pain of a heartbreak. The track reached #5 on the Hot 100 and reached the top of the Country chart on three separate occasions.
With so many excellent female country artists releasing interesting music, it never ceases to amaze me that generic ballads like this one dominate the charts. It doesn’t surprise me, given the target audience, but it’s depressing.
Yeah, I’ve been throwin’ down the whiskey
I ought to get my money back
Someone said it drowns the memory
Aw, but it ain’t doin’ jack
Yeah, I’ve been sippin’, I’ve been buzzin’
Shootin’ doubles like it’s nothin’
Aw, but nothin’ makes you go away
[Chorus]
I need something “You proof”
Something stronger than I’m used to
Yeah, I’ve been pullin’ 90 to 100
Feel like nothing’s gonna cut it, that’s the hard truth
Yeah, I need something “You proof”
Aw, I need something “You proof”
[Verse 2]
Poured ’em up ’til they’re shutting ’em down, yeah
You never ain’t not around, yeah
Don’t matter what time or town, I can’t get you gone
Turned the bar, yeah, upside down
Just lookin’ for somethin’ that does it
I’d give up all my money
[Chorus]
Ain’t nobody sellin’ nothin’ “You proof”
Something stronger than I’m used to
Yeah, I’ve been pullin’ 90 to 100
Feel like nothing’s gonna cut it, that’s the hard truth
Yeah, I need something “You proof”
Aw, I need something “You proof”
[Bridge]
Hey, I’ve been mixing liquors tryin’ to get you gone
Aw, but I must be doing somethin’ wrong
‘Cause I’ve been working hard to fade your memory
Baby, but the only thing faded is me
[Chorus]
I need something “You proof”
Something stronger than I’m used to
Yeah, I’ve been pullin’ 90 to 100
Feel like nothing’s gonna cut it, that’s the hard truth
I need something “You proof” (Poured ’em up ’til they’re shutting ’em down, yeah)
Aw, I need something “You proof” (You never ain’t not around, yeah)
[Outro]
Don’t matter what time or town, I can’t get you gone
Turned the bar, yeah, upside down
Just lookin’ for somethin’ that does it
I’d give up all my money
Ain’t nobody sellin’ nothin’ “You proof”
Meet Me In Montauk 
I don’t think that it is a valid criticism of the country music charts to suggest that female artists don’t do well with the “target audience.” Indeed, if anything, female country artists don’t cross over to the pop charts as much as men, which suggests the bias is favor of male country artists is actually with the non-target audience.
To be sure, Morgan Whalen had a monster year, but a perusal of the top 100 country chart shows he was bested by Lainey Wilson and, overall, there is a pretty even split between male and female artists on that chart. https://www.countrythangdaily.com/top-100-country-songs-chart-2022/
Your link is to a website that makes its own chart of favorite country songs (and they seem to be big Lainey Wilson fans). That isn’t the Billboard country chart.
Here are the top 100 country songs on Billboard: https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2022/hot-country-songs/
No women in the top ten, and no solo women until #15 (which is Taylor Swift’s ‘All Too Well’ rerelease, something of an outlier).
In total, there are only six solo women in the top 50, plus another five who show up on records by men. Far from an even split.
I’m so confused. When SZA and Taylor Swift are dominating ALL the spots on the top list for any given week, how are they not on here? I can’t keep track of all these lists! 😂
For some reason, Billboard calculates the year from the last week of November 2021 through the last week of November 2022.
Because Taylor’s album came out in late October, she didn’t have enough time on this year’s chart to crack to the top 100. She’ll surely be there next year. Same with SZA, whose album didn’t come out until December.
Thank you!