Soda Pop is meant to be this shallow, nakedly pandering pop song. But, like, tropes exist because they work and hook the listener in. It might be a bit too empty calories to stick around for a long time, but that’s kinda the point within the story
Also, I love how they do the key change in the film
61: Soda Pop (Saja Boys) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=983b...
The song used by demons to dethrone Huntr/x and win over fans is an “annoyingly catchy” bop about how they want to have every drop of you, the listener, in a way that reminds me heavily of One Direction
Like Him is extremely effective at conveying Tyler’s emotions as he’s “chasing a ghost”. The sparse piano during the verses give us room to ponder what it means to ask that question. I’m not familiar with his work at all, but it makes me want to hear the rest of Chromakopia if there’s more like this
62: Like Him (Tyler, The Creator feat. Lola Young) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0CQ...
A young Tyler, the Creator is wondering if he will wind up like his absent father and trying to come to grips about accepting that if so. At the end we learn that it’s his mom who pushed away his dad
Look, I can't gauge Residuals on its own merits because of who the artist is. If he ever showed signs of maturing or self-reflection, I’d be willing to give the guy a chance, but instead he’s smashing tequila bottles over people’s heads.
Also, Residuals is such a clunky word to sing.
63: Residuals (Chris Brown) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=46p-...
Ah, I see we’re still giving Chris Brown attention in the year 2025. The people getting all his residuals are his lawyers, as he’s currently contesting criminal charges from multiple incidents
My one issue with Smile is that Wallen still has the same country music accent for a track that does not ask for it. It comes across as him still putting on a face. He needs to be vulnerable, to sell the sadness, and he can’t quite do what needs to be done to get there. Still his best one so far
64: Smile (Morgan Wallen) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7Kd...
A Morgan Wallen song that I don’t completely hate? It’s a Christmas miracle! He gets to see his estranged girlfriend smile, even if it’s just for a picture. It’s a sad song, but overall well-composed
As time goes by, I’ve become less of a fan of Whamageddon. Trying to partake in it makes it that much harder to enjoy holiday music, and I want to be able to pull up a radio station or playlist and enjoy it. To each his own, I guess
65: Last Christmas (Wham!) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8gm...
I am all in favour of non-traditional sounding Christmas songs, and Last Christmas fits the bill. Give me some variety! Don’t be afraid to spice things up, radio programmers and/or holiday music artists
The “Oh my god, am I okay?” at the end of the chorus is supposed to be the big singalong hook, but it doesn’t quite pack the punch it should. I tend to enjoy positive songs, so I have a bit of a soft spot for this one. It’s a solid track, but it just needs a little more to really stick the landing
66: Am I Okay? (Megan Moroney) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6Bh...
She found the perfect man and she’s trying to reason with the fact that it’s actually a good relationship. I’m not sure why it’s causing her to play music in C Major or A Minor, though
It’s a great Christmas song, but there’s not much I feel like I can say about it in the context of the Year-End Hot 100 of 2025. You all have heard this a zillion times and it doesn’t really fit in with the state of pop over the past year. I’ll probably copy-paste all this when it shows up next year
67: Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree (Brenda Lee) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFsZ...
This is the only Christmas song to dethrone Mariah Carey when it finally reached #1 65 years after its release. That’s quite the feat, especially since Brenda Lee was only 13 when she recorded it
Of all the Huntr/x songs, How It’s Done does the best job of trading off between the three members. They each have their moments (props to “Fit check for my napalm era”) and it all comes together very well. It’s the type of song that I would want to blast, and I would love to hear more like this
68: How It’s Done (Huntr/x) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGse...
This is the introduction to the eponymous KPop Demon Hunters, and it depicts them, well, hunting demons before being KPop arena performers. It’s rather effective in kicking the movie into gear
I’m not sure what Happen to Me is trying to be. The chorus doesn’t match the verses which don’t match the bridge. It sounds like it’s trying to be Shut Up and Dance while keeping one foot planted in pop country, and it ends up sacrificing too much. If that’s what you want, you need to commit!
69: Happen to Me (Russell Dickerson) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JYJ...
Seriously, what is with country music and referencing timeless classics? It just makes me want to listen to Girls Just Want to Have Fun or Shut Up and Dance instead. It kills the mood of the song
Baile Inolvidable is the longest song on this list by a full minute, but it should be six minutes long. It’s a salsa that gives people the space to dance, while also being dynamic enough to keep me interested. I’m particularly a fan of the horns that go in and out as called for
70: Baile Inolvidable (Bad Bunny) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Fe...
I recently started going to a beginner salsa class with my wife, so I very much relate to the guy in the music video struggling to keep up with the steps. MVs are cool, people. Please make more of them.
Weren’t for the Wind is about how she’s too much of a drifter to stick around and settle down. It's a decent song, but it doesn’t do anything spectacular or horrific. It’s not exactly exciting when coming up with opinions, but you know what, I’ll take that over most country music that shows up here
71: Weren’t for the Wind (Ella Langley) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4NP...
It’s amazing how much better country music can sound when you include a couple guitars and some drums like it’s supposed to. There’s a reason why Johnny Cash didn’t use trap beats
“There's a lot of reasons I ain't Jesus, but the main one is that I ain't comin' back” is an awfully-designed lyric. It’s like Morgan Wallen had half an idea, and instead of letting it bake decided that he really needed all 37 songs on his next album. We can do so much better than this
72: I Ain’t Comin’ Back (Morgan Wallen feat. Post Malone) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eBI...
Why is Post Malone here? His featured verse could have easily been sung by Wallen and nothing would be lost. Maybe he was needed to come up with lyrics because at least that verse feels there lyrically
Cry for Me exists this high on the list solely because record execs really pushed the song on radio. And yeah, it comes across as safe, middle-of-the-road production about missing an ex and touring life. Abel Tesfaye isn’t killing off The Weeknd; he’s sanding off the edges until there’s nothing left
73: Cry for Me (The Weeknd) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn8g...
Hurry Up Tomorrow is The Weeknd’s final album under his stage name, but I don’t get the feeling that this is a conclusion to anything. Maybe the film explains it better, but apparently that was awful
Now that Teddy Swims isn’t omnipresent on the radio, I have a far easier time enjoying Bad Dreams. It’s got the right amount of emotion to give the impression that he’s genuinely singing the words without interfering with own singing ability. Props to the chorus for having a catchy hook as well
74: Bad Dreams (Teddy Swims) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh8Q...
Teddy Swims blew up last year with Lose Control, and so he followed up with a new album at the start of the year. It’s very much in the same pop-soul style as his previous work, but why fix what isn’t broken?
I love how creative Denial Is a River is. The beat and music video have a great throwback, the interludes makes the song dynamic without killing the flow, and she’s got a great flow to her rapping. Definitely a fan, though I can see the novelty wearing out a bit after many repeated listens
75: Denial Is a River (Doechii) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0cd...
Thank you for making your song about the story of your last five years, Doechii. It saves a lot of time reading Wikipedia! The song is portrayed as a conversion between her and her therapist about all that’s happened.