Now that the final charts for 2013 have been posted, it’s time once again for that fine tradition that’s been going on ever since last year.
The options in the above poll comprise the songs that made #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year. This year saw an interesting change in the formula Billboard uses to calculate chart standing, in that, for the first time, satellite radio, streaming radio, and Youtube views were counted towards a song’s chart standing - which produced some truly interesting results indeed. Of the songs that were deemed to be the most popular in the country this year, which was your favorite?
Nothing I like but I’m amazed how limited the Top 100 has become. I assumed you had just listed a few of the songs that made number 1. As a comparison I picked 1988 because it was 25 years ago and 33 different songs made number 1. There were 15 alone that only made it for one week. I guess the question is what does it really mean now?
I voted for “Thrift Shop” because it’s the only one on the list I’ve actually heard (and I do like it). I’ve heard snippets of the two Miley Cyrus related ones, but I can’t stand her so she’s out of the running (as is her naked-chick-loving buddy Robin).
I went with Thrift Shop, which is actually on my workout mix, so I’ve been listening to it every other day for months now without growing tired of it. The only other song on there I like is Royals and I’m lukewarm on that.
I think it was a pretty good year for pop music, but then I have a 12yo so I have been listening to more top-40 than at any time since I was 12.
I chose Can’t Hold Us because I like anthemic songs with a lot of stuff going on it them. I think Blurred Lines or Thrift Shop are probably the “songs of the year” (I’m leaving Roar off this list out of spite 'cause I’m so damned sick of it) and I guarantee you’ll be hearing them on the oldies channel in about 25 years. You can say the same about We Can’t Stop.
I suspect it’s related somehow to the introduction of Soundscan in compiling the charts. Soundscan was introduced in late 1991 and here’s how many songs became #1 from 1992 until 1999 (since I don’t have a post-2000 copy of Joel Whitburn’s “Billboard Top 40 Hits”):
I don’t love any of them, but I liked most of the first billion times I heard them.
I voted for Eminem, who’s not normally one of my faves- just ahead of Miley Cyrus. She’s a skank and a poseur, but “Wrecking Ball” was a good song before I tired of it.
“Royals” is the only one I’ve heard. Had no idea it was popular (in the US). It’s not bad, although it’s one of the weaker tracks on the album. Voted for that.
The only one I’ve heard (as far as I know) is “Blurred Lines”, because Robin Thicke performed it on the Colbert Report. I’ve only heard *of *three of them…