My Top 20 Favorite Hit Songs of 2023 Part 2 (10-1)

 

10. Snooze - SZA

I think recently SZA finally clicked for me. I haven't tested that yet by going back to her Ctrl era hits since my 2017 best list. Maybe it's just that I like her hits this year more than them, or maybe lately I've been busier and tired more often and more in the mood for downbeat R&B like this, but Kill Bill was one of the last cuts from the list, and Low would have been even higher if it was eligible. This song just did a good job calming me down through this stressful year. SZA's voice just sounds so comforting and smooth, the pitch shifting is fantastic and the beat is just upbeat enough to be catchy and for the song to have rhythm while also laid back enough to be calming. Before I listened to Low as a recommendation from my friends I considered this my favorite SZA song I'd heard, and between the songs I've heard it I actually want to listen to SOS at some point which I never thought I'd say.

9. Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift 

Some of you might be shocked this only barely made the top 10, I mean I'm a big fan of Taylor and this is one of her most beloved songs ever, but while I do love this song I have always found it to be a bit overrated in terms of her discography. Like some of y'all be calling it a top 5 Taylor song and it wouldn't even make my top 30 probably. It is the best song on Lover yes, but that album has aged weirdly and is one of her weakest albums in my opinion. Stick this onto most of her other albums and this song probably wouldn't make my top 3. Heck she's done very similar songs before and after this that I like more in both Getaway Car and August. But like, it's still a fantastic pop song. One of the best hooks we had on the charts this year, beautiful production, and of course Taylor sound incredible. And yes, incredible bridge. It was nice finally hearing this on the radio. 

8. Karma - Taylor Swift

Yes I think this song is better than Cruel Summer and I will stand by that. I'm kinda surprised this ended up so low on the list given it's one of my favorite songs on Midnights, an album that keeps getting better every listen I give it. Sadly, radio overplay did cause it to cool on me a bit, which is why. But I still love it. This song is about how she believes karma is gonna track down all the people who have wronged her in the past, while she stays winning. And even if this song isn't necessarily aimed at Kanye, in a year where Kanye revealed himself to be an antisemitic piece of shit, this hit even harder than it did originally. And Scooter Braun who stole her fucking albums, but now she's even bigger than she was then, and her discography she owns is outselling the albums he stole from her. This song is Taylor celebrating how she is thriving despite people trying to keep her down and it's so powerful. 

7. Vampire - Olivia Rodrigo

Yes even with Bad Idea Right? growing on me a lot, I still prefer Vampire. Are you surprised? I still prefer Driver's License over Good 4 U. This was a hell of a lead single that got me really hyped for GUTS, even if I didn't love the album as a whole. And with the possible exception of Pretty Isn't Pretty, this is my favorite on the album. Olivia sounds incredible of course, and just hits her high notes so well in the beginning. The song starts as a beautiful piano ballad and then it picks up into the most I've ever enjoyed Olivia's rock side I said what I said. The bridge is one of the best moments of pop music this year. Lyrically, this song reminds me of Dear John by Taylor Swift with how she absolutely tears this asshole apart, which is high high praise. "Fame fucker" is just such a beautiful word choice. 

6. Going, Going, Gone - Luke Combs 

I was late to the party with this one as I didn't hear Growin' Up (Luke's album from 2022, which this was a late album single from) until after Gettin' Old came out, but this is such a fantastic song that is easily my favorite from the album and competes with the best on Gettin' Old. The guitar line absolutely rules, Luke's gritty voice is so infectious, and I love the metaphors chosen to describe this relationship that ended and he's trying to move on. This was such a fantastic late album hit that did way better than we expected, and luckily it looks like the same thing will happen this year with Where The Wild Things Are, an even better song!

5. Chemical - Post Malone

This might just be my favorite Posty song ever. And it feels so good saying this after hating both of his hits in 2022. I remember when this dropped and I didn't listen to it worried it was gonna be similar to I Like You and One Right Now, and then my friend Les asked me to listen saying it was one of his best songs, and I was absolutely blown away. This is the song I always knew Posty had in him that I have been waiting for him to make for years. A beautiful pop rock song with a hell of a hook about a toxic relationship that is really bad for him but he can't stop it. I'm not really sure if this song is about a relationship with a woman or about his drug addiction but either way it's beautiful. 

4. Escapism - RAYE, 070 Shake

Full disclosure, I'd never heard of RAYE before this song charted. I don't follow the UK charts at all in my defense. But this song was a phenomenal first impression of her, and her album in 2023 was really good. And the fact that she was kept from releasing an album for 7 YEARS by her fucking label makes me so happy that she got a worldwide hit after she left. She will likely never get another hit in the US let's be real, but he fact she got one is huge. And it's one hell of a song. It's an absolutely gorgeous look at RAYE after her heart gets broken heading to the bar trying to forget about it all, but only to find it doesn't help, and then how much the breakup is hurting her sets in when she gets hungover. And the production just really helps tell the story, along with 070 Shake's incredible bridge. And just when you think the song is over, nope beat switch to the aftermath of her hangover, where she wakes up in someone else's car and doesn't know what's going on. This song is a full experience. And one I kept coming back to. 

3. Calm Down - Rema, Selena Gomez

Remember on my 2022 lists how I wished for there to be a afrobeat hit that I liked? Well I got my wish in 2023. And in a MASSIVE way. And funnily enough this song had actually been charting for several weeks at that point but I hadn't heard it. This was a huge grower. First listen I didn't like it very much but every single time I heard it it got better, and radio where I lived played the hell out of it. Like Shape Of You levels of radio play. And yet this song somehow never got old. It's just so peaceful and calm and it just gave me so much comfort throughout the year. Just two lovers comforting each other and loving each other. The chemistry between Selena and Rema is immaculate and the whole song gives me Unavoidable by Neon Trees vibes, but in a more lowkey way. Whenever I say that about a song that is HIGH PRAISE (Never Say Never by Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson is even better than I thought it was on my best list in 2022 by the way). I needed a song like this this last year to help me keep sane with the pressures of life, and I'm so glad I got it. 

2. I Remember Everything - Zach Bryan, Kacey Musgraves

Okay, so before this I'm not gonna lie, I hadn't really experienced the hype behind Zach Bryan, mostly cause I'd only heard Something In The Orange and Dawns, the former of which is great but I don't love it anywhere near as much as most people in this community, and the latter of which I am not a big fan of. But when I listened to this song first listen it completely blew me away and I was like "okay yeah I get the hype around this guy now".  I gave it a 10/10 on first listen, something that rarely happens, as easy as I am about 10s. And then I listened to his self titled album and it was great. This is probably still my favorite song on it. But not only is his music great for the most part, the hype around Zach Bryan is the general American audience saying "fuck you" to Nashville, "this is the kind of country we want, fuck off with your Jason Aldeans" something I can get behind. And he gave a #1 hit to Kacey Musgraves an artist Nashville has completely screwed over for years because of their sexism. The popularity of Zach Bryan this year, and this song in particular was a lot of people in the US general audience who previously viewed country as "redneck country" and "all country music is about trucks and beer and objectifying women" realizing there's more to the genre and putting their support behind the county they wanted to hear. So did Nashville embrace this newfound popularity and put radio support behind this? Haha, of course not. This song managed to debut at #1 on the Hot 100 and stay stable in the top 10 for MONTHS with NO RADIO AT ALL! Entirely off of streaming and sales. But anyway, it's just a phenomenal country song. Zach Bryan just sings his fucking ass off and sounds so fucking haunted selling the emotions perfectly. So does Kacey. I need to hear more of her music, as I haven't really listened to her outside of this, and this was a fantastic first impression. And the instrumental is so beautiful. But part of the reason this is so high is the popularity of this song and Zach Bryan gives me hope that even if the Nashville country radio won't change, like the stubborn, bigoted, old men that they are, the people will cause the country music scene to be less bigoted. And I say this as someone who likes a fair amount of mainstream country. So what beat it? Well before we find out, a few honorable mentions. 

HM. Made You Look - Meghan Trainor

Meghan Trainor is good and I'm tired of the massive hate boner this community has against her. Like if this song was made by some newcomer to the industry and not Meghan Trainor would y'all be putting it on your worst lists?

HM. Heart Like A Truck - Lainey Wilson

Ended Hardy.

HM. Water - Tyla

Oh hey I got another afrobeat song I like this year. Nice.

HM. Tennessee Orange - Megan Moroney

This one's cute.  

HM. Just Wanna Rock - Lil Uzi Vert

Vibes.

HM. Barbie World - Ice Spice, Nicki Minaj

What if I said I liked the original Barbie Girl more than this song? Still a really fun song though. 

HM. Ella Baila Sola - Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma

I wasn't a big fan of most of the regional Mexican stuff that did well this year but this one is a banger. 

HM. Fukumean - Gunna

The fact that the clean version of this song is just called "umean" is really fucking funny to me.

HM. Kill Bill - SZA

This might have made the list if overplay didn't kill it. 

HM. Lavender Haze - Taylor Swift

This one surprised me because for a long time I thought it was mid and one of the weakest on Midnights, and while I do still think the latter, it did grow on me very recently. I still definitely have issues with it, the fucking distortion in the verses really holds it back, but a hook this good makes up for that. And the lyrics are also great. 

Now a few of my favorite songs from this year that weren't hits:

Weapons - Ava Max 

This technically came out in 2022, but the album came out in 2023 which was where I heard it first so I'm counting it. Why didn't we make Diamonds & Dancefloors huge here? It's such a fantastic album. Pop hook of the year right here. 

Joe - Luke Combs

I had a bit of trouble picking the song from Gettin' Old for this section, as it's my favorite album of 2023 I heard. There's the phenomenal love song Still, song about missing a loved one See Me Now, the beautiful storytelling of Where The Wild Things Are (my current frontrunner for best hit of 2024 by the way). But in the end I chose the one I had the strongest personal connection to, which ended up being Joe. Now, I have never drank alcohol, so I don't relate to this song on that level, but this year I slowed down my soda addiction (I went from drinking like 4-5 sodas a week to 0-2), and this song was an anthem to that that helped me motivate myself to change. 

Low - SZA

This also technically came out in 2022 but whatever. I still haven't heard SOS but this is the best song I've heard from it. That beat just slaps so hard and SZA sounds so good over it. And Travis Scott's adlibs are great too. Hot song. 

Haunted - Spanish Love Songs

For a while Marvel would have been the song here from No Joy, but I recently realized this is my favorite song of Spanish Love Songs's whole career, and I say that as a huge fan of them who considers their last three albums among my all time favorites. As the lead single from the album it made me so fucking hyped for the album and this song was a personal anthem for me this year, and it will likely remain one for years to come. Dylan Slocum trying to inspire a friend who is depressed to get out of the rut and keep going, while also acknowledging that yes, things do suck right now, but you gotta do what you can to get by. "It'll be this bleak forever, but that is a way to live" is the lyric of the year. Especially with it being a reference to Self Destruction (As A Sensible Career Choice) from Brave Faces Everyone.  This is my favorite song of 2023. Now for my favorite hit of the year...

1. 

Okay so I think most of my Discord friends reading this know what my #1 is. And probably several of you who aren't friends with me on Discord if you read the top 20 ranking I did earlier this year as I put this song at #1 and said I was saving my heavy praise for the best list...

1. Fast Car - Luke Combs

Oh boy. I know some people will be uh, let's just say, angry at me for putting this at #1. Since if you don't know it is a cover of a Tracy Chapman song that hit #6 on the Hot 100 in 1988. And that song is widely regarded as one of the best songs of the 80s. And some got mad at this cover because a cover of a song originally by a black woman, by a white man had a higher peak than the original song. And some looped this song in with Rich Men North Of Richmond and Try That In A Small Town as "the racist country trio".  I heavily disagree with calling this song racist. Or Luke Combs himself. He has spoken in support of BLM. And he covered this song out of love and respect for the original song and Tracy Chapman. That's why he didn't change the "checkout girl" line. And Tracy Chapman has embraced this cover, saying, according to Wikipedia: ""I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I'm honored to be there. I'm happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced 'Fast Car.' Now I just want to say that I think Fast Car by Tracy Chapman is a fantastic song. Not a personal all time favorite or anything, but if I ever do a 1988 best list it'll probably make it. But, and I know people will get mad at me for this, I like this cover more than the original. Again, I just want to make it clear that I do love the original song, and also I want to remind you that is is all MY OPINION and MUSIC IS SUBJECTIVE. You are allowed to disagree with me. Luke Combs is one of my favorite singers. I personally like the sound of his voice more than Tracy's. But also, well, I hear myself in Luke Combs. This is one reason I have become a big fan of him recently. He has a very similar sounding voice to my own.  And I felt a deep personal connection with Gettin' Old, his album from this year. As well as some of his other songs like Does To Me and Even Though I'm Leaving. And this is my favorite song on Gettin' Old. I am an adult now, and I'm still getting used to the pressures that come with becoming an adult, and in a lot of ways things feel like they're changing too fast for me to be able to handle. This is why All The Right Moves by One Republic has been one of my all time favorite songs for a couple years now. And this same resonance I felt with several songs on Gettin' Old. Right now I am struggling with motivating myself to do well in college, which led to be failing at least one class three semesters in a row. Because of this, my school has put me under dismissal, meaning unless I can figure something out with a counselor, I will not be able to take any classes this semester. The reason I am struggling with motivation is because I don't know what I want to major in yet or what I want to do with my life yet. Now, before I heard this cover I had frankly forgotten about the original Fast Car, I hadn't heard it in a long time, since I was a youngling who didn't pay attention to lyrics at all, and heck I didn't even know what it was called. When I heard this cover on Gettin' Old for the first time I was blown away by how much I connected with the lyrics. And this became the version I became attached to because of that, which I also think is part of why I prefer the cover. The optimistic nature of the lyrics was what I needed most this year. A song about doing whatever you can to one day be able to have the life you want for yourself. And sung by someone who has a similar voice to me that I hear myself in. This more than anything else this year except Haunted by Spanish Love Songs, was the song that came out this year I needed most. And also, the fact that one of the biggest country radio hits this last year was a cover of a song by a black woman, but one done out of respect and honor, not one done intentionally trying to become more famous than the original to push the original out of history and make the song look like the white artist's own, gives me hope. That maybe Nashville, as fucking bigoted and behind the times as they are, can change. In a year of Jason Aldeans and Morgan Wallens, that hope was sorely needed. Fast Car by Luke Combs. My favorite hit song of 2023!

Thanks for reading! I'll see you next time!