My Top 20 Favorite Hit Songs of 2007 Part 1: 20-11

Hi everyone, Drake, known online as Urtar Reviews here and today we're looking at 10 of my Top 20 favorite hit songs of 2007. This was a very good year for pop music, one of the best I've looked at so far. While there are some songs on this Year End I hated, and I already talked about those, I loved FAR more songs, and this year is packed full of lots of songs I adore and some all timers for me. For eligibility rules read my worst list, and remember this is all my opinion! You are free to disagree with me! 

To anyone angry at me for including This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race on my worst list, this entry is for you... 

20. Thnks Fr Th Mmrs - Fall Out Boy (Peak #11, Billboard Year End: #37, Jan-Dec Year End: #34)

As I said in that entry on my worst list, I generally like Fall Out Boy, I just don't like This Ain't A Scene...And this is a really fun and groovy rock song. I'm not sure what the lyrics mean frankly, but they sound cool and the groove is immaculate. I especially love the string instruments in the verses and bridge. And that hook is iconic and awesome. 

This next entry might get some hate from others in this community too. And it probably won't be the last. But this next song rules and I don't care what anyone else says...

19. Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne (Peak #1, Billboard Year End: #12, Jan-Dec Year End: #9)

"WAH WAH IT'S A STEAL YOUR BOY SONG 0/10 MORALLY REPREHENSIBLE TREAT YOU BETTER OF THE 2000s!!!!" Please shut up. Now if it you hate this for being obnoxious I get it. But her over the top personality is what makes this song really work for me. First of all she was a teenager when she wrote this so the immaturity is genuine like in Boyfriend in Dove Cameron. But also it's just so much fun to listen to. Avril has so much personality and I love the guitar line. The tone of this song compared to something like Treat You Better makes it way easier to not take seriously. 

Speaking of songs that will get me hate for appearing on this list, I mean come on I already teased this in my worst list. You knew something from this band was gonna be here...

18. Rockstar - Nickelback (Peak #6, Billboard Year End: #36, Jan-Dec Year End: #29)

This isn't even my favorite Nickelback song but it's still amazing. I'm not sure how to describe why I like this song so much though. It just slaps to me. Just something about how it sounds really appeals to me. The cheesiness of the song in a really appealing way. Chad Kroeger's voice is smooth like milk over this great acoustic rock swagger. And as I said I often have a soft spot for his voice for whatever reason. I have no idea why this song gets more hate in this community than If Everyone Cared, but hey you do you. Anyway, amazing song. 

Timbaland. 

17. Ice Box - Omarion (Peak #12, Billboard Year End: #45, Jan-Dec Year End: #53)

Yes another R&B song making a best list of mine. It happens on occasion. And it's mainly because of Timbaland's beat. Because he really delivered on this track. The silky beat sounds amazing And Omarion rides the silky beat incredibly smoothly and also does a great job selling the lyrics about heartbreak. Not the last of Timbaland you'll see on this list. 

Rest in peace...

16. What I've Done - Linkin Park (Peak #7, Billboard Year End: #38, Jan-Dec Year End: #35)

I don't think I've talked about them before on this blog, but Linkin Park has made some of the only metal music I enjoy. I listened to their first album Hybrid Theory recently, and while there were some songs that didn't work for me, overall it was a pretty good album. And songs like In The End and Numb are absolute classics of the early 2000s (espicially In The End, spoiler for my eventual 2002 lists) Anyway, about this song in particular. While it is not as good as either of those songs, I still love it, I mean it made this list after all. The piano combined with the drums and guitar create a really bleak atmosphere that sounds amazing and fits so well with Chester Bennington singing about his own demons and needing to forgive his own demons. I espicially love when  he sings "I start again. And whatever pain may come. Today this ends. I'm forgiving what I've done" is just such a powerful moment. 

2007 was the year Rihanna really became a household name. I mean she had multiple successful singles in 2005 and 2006 including a top 3 hit in Pon De Replay and a #1 hit in SOS, but in 2007 she had the second biggest hit of the year according to Billboard with Umbrella. And her album Good Girl Gone Bad late in 2007 would also land multiple huge hits in the 2008 chart year. And while I also really like Umbrella, her song on this year end list that really impressed me is the much less successful one...

15. Shut Up And Drive - Rihanna (Peak #15, Billboard Year End: #90, Jan-Dec Year End: #85)

Rihanna made a rock song. And it rules. Now i'm not gonna call it her best song because it's a rock song or some shit, heck I don't think it's her best song!  But yeah it's a rock banger. And it's Body Like A Back Road by Sam Hunt done well. You see this one is actually hot, smooth and sexy. And has a great groove unlike that awful 2017 song. I wouldn't mind if Rihanna made more rock music, she's pretty good at it, even if she is also very good at pop and R&B so I'm not like asking her to make more or anything. 

Timbaland.

14. Apologize - Timbaland, One Republic (Peak #2, Billboard Year End: #66, Jan-Dec Year End: #26)

Here I am, once again, praising this band after shitting on them for once on my 2022 lists. This is one of their biggest songs ever, thanks to a remix from Timbaland. Now for what it's worth the original Apologize is also a good song, but not only was the remix the one that was the hit, but it's the version that I like more. The original feels incomplete without the backing vocals that got added to the remix, and while it works decently well as a rock song, I really like the hip hop beat of the remix and think the song works better over that beat. Timbaland produced so many great songs this year and this remix is yet another. The lyrics are well written and Ryan Tedder sells them well, his performance is great in general, he sounds amazing. 

Well, I already gave you the hint to this entry (if you got it you got it). Anyway, remember when this artist made good music consistently?

13. Never Again - Kelly Clarkson (Peak #8, Billboard Year End: #70, Jan-Dec Year End: #69)

This was the lead single from the album My December, the follow up to Kelly's smash album Breakaway from 2004 that ruled the charts in 2005 and 2006. Breakaway was an album with the label behind it, with co-writers, big name producers like Max Martin and the like. With My December Kelly wanted to make something less label influenced, something that her label ended up not wanting to release, but eventually did. And this album ended up underperforming, with Never Again becoming the only real hit from the album, and a modest one at that. Now, I haven't listened to My December, but if the rest of the album is like this song I'll probably love it. Now it may sound like I like this song more than the hits from Breakaway because of what I said above, but that's not true for most of them. I love four of the five big singles from Breakaway, at least two more than this one, possibly three. But that's a matter for future lists. This definitely sounds like something that the label wouldn't want her to make after the success of her previous album. And I love the anger of her performance. She sounds incredibly angry and just sells this out the roof, and also sounds amazing. And her calling off this asshole with all the lines she says is powerful and cathartic. I don't get the hate with this song honestly. It is definitely different from the big hits from Breakaway but in a way that is also really good. If only she continued to do that, instead of having mediocre or worse hits for the rest of her career. But at least we still have songs like this.

Timbaland.

12. The Way I Are - Timbaland, Keri Hilson (Peak #3, Billboard Year End: #18, Jan-Dec Year End: #11)

Yet another classic from this year produced by Timbaland. I've said before that I'm a sucker for a good duet, and this is a very good duet. Although there are two other men who come in at the end so I guess it's not fully a duet, but whatever. Keri and Timbaland have a lot of chemistry, and the love song lyrics are nice. Timbaland plays the poor guiy who is very friendly and Keri is in love with even though he doesn't have much money, and so she picks him over the other rich men in the club. But the real star of the show is the production. The beat is so goddamn smooth and groovy, like the butter BTS wrote about. Just a bop. 

APPLE BOTTOM JEANS! BOOTS WITH THE FUR! 

11. Low - Flo Rida, T-Pain (Peak #1, Billboard Year End: N/A, Jan=Dec Year End: #97)

This is easily Flo Rida's signature hit. It was the biggest hit song of 2008 according to Billboard, but it did chart late in 2007 and hit the top 10 for a few weeks in December 2007 allowing it to barely make the Jan-Dec Year End in 2007, so it's eligible for this list. Anyway, the song itself. I have made it clear on this blog multiple times before that I like Flo Rida a lot. Most of his hits are incredible club bangers. And while this isn't my favorite of his songs, it is one hell of a club banger. And a incredible song to exercise to (as is a lot of his hits actually). The hook is iconic for a reason, not only is it catchy as hell, but it's amazing. And the verses provide a lot of swagger. And the beat slaps too. 

Thanks for reading. Urtar Reviews signing out. I'll see you next time.