July 1, 2023 Top 20 Ranking

 

Hey everyone, Drake, known online as Urtar Reviews here, and today we're gonna rank last week's Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. First time I have done this on the blog actually. I considered doing one in the spring, but the charts were so boring that I didn't. Not that the charts are particularly interesting right now, but they are a bit more interesting than they were and I decided to just do one anyway. 

Link to the chart: https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/2023-07-01/

Awful Tier (1/10)

20. You Proof - Morgan Wallen (Current Position: #20)

I need something Morgan Wallen-proof. Okay but seriously WHY IS THIS STILL HERE? 

Bad Tier  (3/10)

19. Last Night - Morgan Wallen (Current Position: #1)

If not for the Olivia Rodrigo single that just dropped and will probably keep this song from getting any more weeks, there's a decent chance this song would have broken Old Town Road's record. This. One of the most generic, least interesting songs I have heard from the guy. It is above average for a Morgan Wallen song admittedly in my opinion, in that it is bad and not terrible. 

Mediocre Tier (4/10)

18. Need A Favor - Jelly Roll (Current Position: #17)

I mean, at least it's better than Son Of A Sinner. I mean I still hate Jelly Roll's voice but this time he's got an instrumental I kind of like so hey I'll take that. 

17. Die For You (remix) - The Weeknd, Ariana Grande (Current Position: #15)

The original really did not hold up to overplay for me, and the remix doesn't make it any better but at least it's a bit more fresh I guess. I bet once the overplay wears off I will like the original more again though. 

Mid Tier (5/10)

16. La Bebe (Remix) - Yng Lvcas, Peso Pluma

This is one of those songs for me that just goes in one ear and out the other. 

Decent Tier (6/10)

15. Flowers - Miley Cyrus (Current Position: #4)

My mom loves this song. I wish I liked it as much as she does. I mean it's a perfectly fine pop song with a decent hook but it has just never clicked for me. 

Good Tier (7/10)

14. Ella Baila Sola - Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma (Current Position: #10)

I like the melodies and the guitars, and the singers sound good but the horns do hold it back some for me. Still good though. 

13. Snooze - SZA (Current Position: #13)

I still haven't listened to SOS, and given how I am not a big R&B fan I may never listen to it. My thoughts on this are the same thoughts I have about a lot of her music. It's good but not fully my thing and not something I want to listen to very often. 

12. Favorite Song - Toosii (Current Position: #6)

This song is cute. I like it. 

11. All My Life - Lil Durk, J. Cole (Current Position: #5)

I'd prefer to not see Dr. Luke on a top 10 hit immediately after what him getting away scot-free from the Kesha trials (although she got free from him which is incredible), but this is a good song so it could be worse. I especially like the children's choir. Hopefully the success of this song can enable Money by JID to go viral and chart (not gonna happen but a man can hope). 

10. Karma (Remix) - Taylor Swift, Ice Spice (Current Position: #7)

The original Karma is one of my favorite songs on Midnights and would be top 3 in this ranking. Sadly, the version credited right now is the remix that I don't like as much. It's still good mainly on the strength of the original, but I don't like Ice Spice's verse and her verse replaces a verse I loved in the original song. 

Great Tier (8/10)

9. Creepin' - Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, 21 Savage (Current Position: #9)

I am not a big fan of the original song I Don't Wanna Know by Mario Winans from 2004, but this is a big upgrade in my eyes. Upping the tempo a bit makes me get into the song more, and I like The Weeknd more than Mario Winans as a singer. And 21 Savage is 21 Savage. 

8. Sure Thing - Miguel (Current Position: #11)

Before this song went viral this year (this song came out and was a top 40 hit in 2011 by the way), I was not a big fan of it. I thought it was only decent because I was not a fan of the pitch shifting, but more exposure to it this year has caused the song to grow on me a fair amount. I now don't mind the pitch shifting, and the melodies are strong. 

7. Fukumean - Gunna (Current Position: #17)

I have nothing to say about this song it just slaps. 

Amazing Tier (9/10)

6. Kill Bill - SZA (Current Position: #8)

This is probably my favorite lead artist SZA song I have heard so far. I know that's a basic take since this is easily now her biggest solo hit ever, but yeah. The synths are amazing and her silky voice glides over them very well. I've finally found a downbeat-ish SZA song that clicked fully for me so that's nice. 

5. Calm Down - Rema, Selena Gomez (Current Position: #3)

One of the biggest growers of the year. The beat is incredibly smooth in the best way, and Rema and Selena sound amazing with their cooing, and it's just a great duet. I finally found an afrobeat song I love a lot so I'm also happy about that. 

4. Something In The Orange - Zach Bryan (Current Position: #14)

I don't know why this song is still in the top 20, but I'm not complaining because it's still as excellent as ever. I already said my piece about this song on my best list for 2022 so read that if you haven't. 

3. Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift (Current Position: #18)

So uh, in one of the main  Discord servers I'm active in, a running thing is that I don't think this is top 10 or even top 20 or 30 Taylor songs like a lot of my Discord friends do, but here's the thing, one, I am a big Taylor fan, and two, I'm pretty sure I have loved this song for longer than a lot of them. It was one of my favorite songs on Lover when it came out and I was rooting hard for it to be a single then, which never happened. And now that it has gone viral and is now a single, I am so happy to see it smash and hear it on the radio. And it is my second favorite song on Lover behind Daylight. But, it's not quite a 10/10 for me, and in a discography as stacked as Taylor's is in my opinion it doesn't rank incredibly high. This is a damn amazing pop song, in a discography full of incredible songs of different kinds. 

Transcendent Tier (10/10)

2. Anti-Hero - Taylor Swift (Current Position: #12)

Taylor's biggest Hot 100 hit ever and it's still as good as it always was. This will go down as one of her signature songs for good reason. If you want to hear me talk more about why I love it so much see my best list for 2022. So what beat it? 

1. Fast Car - Luke Combs (Current Position: #2)

This will likely become Luke Comb's biggest hit ever, and that is well deserved, a cover of Fast Car by Tracy Chapman, a widely beloved hit song from the 80s, one that I do like, particularly the remastered version. But if I'm being honest, and I know people will disagree with me on this and that's fine, I prefer this version. This cover is so special and hits so hard for me right now, that I think there's a decent chance this tops my best list in January (or later), so I'm gonna save the rest of my thoughts for then. Just know that this is Luke Combs' best song since Does To Me in my opinion, and might even be better than that song.