# Best #1 Single of the Year: 2016 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 14, 2016, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674 "2016-12-14T13:23:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/21 "2016-12-15T07:24:41Z")
Wow, I kind of dislike most of these songs and actively hate the remainder. I don’t think that’s happened in previous years, where there was at least one song I really liked or at the very least found mostly ok. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/22 "2016-12-15T08:27:45Z")
I can’t recall doing one of these polls where so many songs had _zero_ votes after a full day had passed - but then I’ll agree that most of those ones aren’t very good. For me it was a tossup between the two Justins. I ended up going with “Love Yourself” because it’s a very clever way to do a dis track and I loved Ed Sheeran’s contribution. (I didn’t even realize Bieber was on it the first few listens.) Looking at the year-end charts, there’s quite a few songs that didn’t quite make #1 that I would’ve considered voting for if they’d made it; - Twentyone Pilots - “Stressed Out” - Lukas Graham - “Seven Years” - Mike Posner - “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” - DNCE - “Cake By the Ocean” - Gnash w/ Olivia O’Brian - “I Hate U, I Love U” - The Weeknd w/ Daft Punk - “Starboy” - Adele - “When We Were Young” (a better song than “Hello”, IMO) ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/23 "2016-12-15T09:03:48Z")
Only know about half those songs and either dislike or am unmoved by most of the rest. Timberlake’s song is peppy and enjoyable but not a song I’d typically think of as best of the year. Upper mid-level at best in a world where actual musicality was expected in songs. The song I probably enjoy listening to the most is _Closer_, but again not a song I’d typically think of as good enough to be song of the year. I agree with **Shodan** that Rihanna is hot and I usually like her stuff quite a lot, but I’m sorry, _Work_ sucks! (Largely because I know damn well she can hold her breath better than that! :D) Adele’s an odd lyricist and talented singer but takes herself too seriously for my taste, plus I’m tired of/over her. And Sia’s a talented singer but that stupid wig is all I think of every time I hear anything she sings. On preview however I see songs I like quite a bit better. I like _I Hate U, I Love You_ quite a lot, almost as much as _Closer_, and now that I’ve been reminded of it, _Cake By The Ocean_ easily takes honors as my favorite single of the year. And **whitetho** , _Ex’s and Oh’s_ came out in 2014. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/24 "2016-12-15T09:08:00Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > And **whitetho** , _Ex’s and Oh’s_ came out in 2014. Would you believe it still made #63 on 2016’s year-end chart? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/25 "2016-12-15T09:31:32Z")
That’s interesting. I wonder why. Was it just on the chart that long? I still hear it on the radio fairly often. It may have also gotten a boost from [Grace Vanderwaal’s cover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SbLtb3vv2s) which has drawn considerable attention, including a [sweet and classy note](https://twitter.com/ElleKingMusic/status/757964965819146240) from Elle King herself. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/26 "2016-12-15T09:36:59Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > That’s interesting. I wonder why. Was it just on the chart that long? I still hear it on the radio fairly often. It may have also gotten a boost from [Grace Vanderwaal’s cover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SbLtb3vv2s) which has drawn considerable attention, including a [sweet and classy note](https://twitter.com/ElleKingMusic/status/757964965819146240) from Elle King herself. It was still in the Top 40 as recently as March, and doesn’t seem to have dropped out of the Hot 100 until late spring. “Uptown Funk” had about the same longevity on the Hot 100 - I’m thinking that once a pop song gets enough crossover appeal to start getting airplay on adult contemporary stations, it doesn’t fall off the charts for a good long time. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/27 "2016-12-15T09:59:47Z")
Well that’s pretty cool. With such a dearth of good songs these days I’m happy for the few good ones to stick around as long as people are enjoying them. Funny you mentioned Uptown Funk, I almost posted above that if Bruno Mars had released anything it would probably be getting mention as a favorite for 2016. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/28 "2016-12-15T10:50:02Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Funny you mentioned Uptown Funk, I almost posted above that if Bruno Mars had released anything it would probably be getting mention as a favorite for 2016. 😃 Oh, you haven’t heard [24 Karat Magic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vwaDqcfcNI)? Aside from the ear-grating Auto-Tune intro (which thankfully is absent on the radio version), it’s darn good. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/29 "2016-12-15T11:22:00Z")
Well, as it turns out echos of this song, which I’ve only heard snippets of and thought was probably a few years old, were what inspired the impulse to almost mention Bruno Mars before. You’re right though, it a really good tune and I’m glad now to have heard all of it and how to find it. Thanks! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/30 "2016-12-15T13:28:14Z")
These are the only songs that I knew without hesitation: **Adele** - _Hello_ **Justin Bieber** - _Sorry_ I realized, after a quick check on YouTube, that these three are also familiar: **Justin Bieber w/ Ed Sheeran** - _Love Yourself_ **Rihanna w/ Drake** - _Work_ **Sia** - _Cheap Thrills_ I’ve never heard the other ones. Pass. Not one really good song in the lot. _Hello_ and _Sorry_ are tolerable, I guess but hardly compelling. Oh and the **Rihanna w/ Drake** entry is absolutely AWFUL. **Smapti** has mentioned **The Weeknd w/ Daft Punk** ’s _Starboy_ and, while and don’t care much for it, I agree that it’s way better than anything on the list. [This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn3wJ1_1Zsg) is the only song from 2016 that’s worth remembering, in my view (EDIT: video is mildly NSFW). ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/31 "2016-12-15T13:48:06Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Looking at the year-end charts, there’s quite a few songs that didn’t quite make #1 that I would’ve considered voting for if they’d made it; > > - Twentyone Pilots - “Stressed Out” > - Lukas Graham - “Seven Years” > - Mike Posner - “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” > - DNCE - “Cake By the Ocean” > - Gnash w/ Olivia O’Brian - “I Hate U, I Love U” > - The Weeknd w/ Daft Punk - “Starboy” > - Adele - “When We Were Young” (a better song than “Hello”, IMO) I didn’t care much for “Stressed Out,” but I really liked “Ride” by Twentyone Pilots. I agree that “When We Were Young” was way better than “Hello,” and so is her most recent one, “Water Under the Bridge.” One other song that I wish had made it higher on the charts: “This Girl” by Kungs vs. Cookin’ on 3 Burners. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/32 "2016-12-22T05:46:17Z")
Justin Timberlake got my vote, it was a good single. Second place would be Chainsmokers. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/33 "2016-12-22T11:22:25Z")
Pass. I liked Paul Simon’s single this year, “Wristband,” so that’s my write-in vote. Old fart. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/34 "2016-12-22T14:02:11Z")
^^^ Me Too. Thanks for the opportunity to see what I’ve been missing. Justg listened to them all (or as much as I could stand) and not a single one was even remotely familiar. I haven’t missed a thing. It’s all mind-numbing percussion and an animated cartoon voice. Not one singer can really sing, and the arrangements sound like they’re aimed at an arena/stadium audience during a time-out. So this is it, after thousands of years of musical evolution. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/35 "2016-12-22T21:22:58Z")
I like pop music but wow is that a bad crop of songs. Closer is definitely the winner. “Work” might be one of the worst pop songs ever. It sounds like a parody made bad on purpose. She starts to just mumble at one point. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/36 "2016-12-22T21:40:31Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I like pop music but wow is that a bad crop of songs. Closer is definitely the winner. “Work” might be one of the worst pop songs ever. It sounds like a parody made bad on purpose. She starts to just mumble at one point. I thought I was going crazy for suggesting it was the best song (even though I didn’t vote for it), but looking now through the music critics’ end-of-year lists, it’s pretty much in the top 10 of every single one. Hell, even the [Brits](http://www.nme.com/list/nme-best-songs-2016-1871049) put it at #1. ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/37 "2016-12-22T23:02:44Z")
I haven’t heard the song, but I voted for Desiigner, because I like pandas. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/38 "2016-12-22T23:58:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I thought I was going crazy for suggesting it was the best song (even though I didn’t vote for it), but looking now through the music critics’ end-of-year lists, it’s pretty much in the top 10 of every single one. Hell, even the [Brits](http://www.nme.com/list/nme-best-songs-2016-1871049) put it at #1. I didn’t vote for it either (went for Sia), but it’s always good to hear Rihanna doing stuff in her native accent. [https://youtu.be/HL1UzIK-flA](https://youtu.be/HL1UzIK-flA) (link has subtitles on) ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674/39 "2016-12-23T22:15:15Z")
I went with Closer. Interesting that I’m familiar with most of the songs this year, although I had to YouTube most of them to remind me. I guess I did spend quite a bit of time at bars playing pop music this year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-2016/774674.md?page=1)