It’s Morgan Wallen again at #22 on the year-end Billboard chart. I guess that’s to be expected for a guy who put 36 tracks on the Hot 100 with one album release.
His fourth track on the list (so far) is ‘Thought You Should Know,’ a tribute to his mother written with Miranda Lambert and Nicolle Galyon. It’s a little galling to me that Lambert can make it to #7 on the Hot 100 as a co-writer of this song but has barely sniffed the Top 20 with her own brilliant work.
PinkPantheress and Ice Spice close out the Top 20 of 2023 with ‘Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2,’ a song that also showed up high on many year-end critics’ best-of lists.
At #21 is North Carolina-based rapper Toosii, whose ‘Favorite Song’ is something you don’t hear very often: an earnest, romantic rap song. This was the second single from Toosii’s sophomore album Naujour, and it was released on February 17 in a nod to Valentine’s Day.
The 18th most popular song of 2023, according to Billboard’s Hot 100, was Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer,’ a song she finally released as a single four years after it first appeared on the album Lover.
At #19 is Morgan Wallen, with his third song in the top 20. ‘Thinkin’ Bout Me’ was the sixth single released from his 36-track album One Thing at a Time, a record that saw every one of its songs chart on the Hot 100. This was one of five songs from the album to reach the Top Ten.
The #15 song of 2023, according to Billboard’s Hot 100, was Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was,’ quite the feat considering it was the #2 song the year before.
At #16 is another country bro, Bailey Zimmerman, with ‘Rock and a Hard Place.’
That brings us to #17, a track called ‘Under the Influence’ by R&B singer — and abuser of women — Chris Brown.
Getting back to the year-end edition of ‘What the Kids are Listening To,’ I’ve reached #12 and #13, two country songs I’ve already featured on the blog: Morgan Wallen’s ‘You Proof‘ and Zach Bryan’s ‘Something in the Orange,’ respectively.
At #14 is ‘Ricj Flex,’ the lead-off track from Drake and 21 Savage’s 2022 album Her Loss. This song became a viral hit and spent three weeks at #2, blocked from the top spot by Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero.’
Meet Me In Montauk 