The 20 Best Pop Radio Hits of 2020
Looking over this list and comparing it to my recent top 100 pop singles of the 2010s list, it definitely feels like there's a lot of holdovers from the previous decades, the Taylor Swifts and Max Martins and One Direction alumni and so on. But we're definitely in a new post-TikTok post-Billie Eilish era in some other respects, and it feels like pop radio is an interesting place, a lot of different sounds melting together. Here’s
the Spotify playlist, and the other lists I’ve done this year for rap, R&B,
and country.
1. Harry Styles - "Adore You"
#1 Pop Songs, #6 Hot 100
I still love One Direction and think Four is the best thing any of them has done, that Niall Horan’s solo work is about equal to Harry’s, and that critics have an annoying tendency to underrate vocal groups and overrate the members’ solo careers. That said, Harry Styles knocked it out of the park with Fine Line and I was impressed that him playing the long game of not making radio-friendly singles on his first album in order to make huge radio hits on his own terms on his second album.
2. Dua Lipa - "Break My Heart"
#1 Pop Songs, #13 Hot 100
I put “Don’t Start Now” on my 2019 list, otherwise it’d be #1 here, but the follow-up single was right up there on almost the same level. I think it’s nice that they gave INXS a writing credit even though the similarity to “Need You Tonight” was kind of an accident, I love that song too.
3. 24kGoldn f/ Iann Dior - "Mood"
#1 Pop Songs, #1 Hot 100
“Mood” winded up being bigger on Top 40 radio than anywhere else, but it and 24kGoldn’s previous single “City of Angels” charted on alternative radio first, and it kind of works equally well in both contexts. I enjoyed interviewing 24kGoldn a few weeks ago, he’s a funny kid who’s probably got a pretty good career ahead of him.
4. The Weeknd - "Blinding Lights"
#1 Pop Songs, #1 Hot 100
I’ll admit that The Weeknd is one of the most influential R&B acts of the last decade, but I’ve never really cared much for his dour slow jams and have always preferred his big brash crossover pop moments. So I was happy when the Max Martin synth pop jam from After Hours overtook the Metro Boomin-produced “Heartless” as the biggest hit from After Hours.
5. Halsey - "You Should Be Sad"
#13 Pop Songs, #26 Hot 100
Maniac came out over a year after “Without Me” hit #1, so it kind of didn’t even feel like it was part of the album campaign, and I wish the single that actually came out alongside the album, “You Should Be Sad,” did better. But with its weird countryish Greg Kurstin track, it was kind of a different sound for Halsey, and I’m glad she took a risk with it. And it has a message that really resonates with me: that G-Eazy is a huge douchebag.
6. Demi Lovato - "I Love Me"
#12 Pop Songs, #18 Hot 100
It took people a decade for a lot of people to empathize with what Britney Spears was going through circa 2007, but I still see a lot of mean jokes about what Demi Lovato’s gone through the last few years, it bums me out. The songs she’s put out this year have been really good, though, especially “I Love Me,” really interested to see what her next album is like. And as someone who loves Lovato’s first two guitar-driven albums, Travis Barker’s “emo version”of “I Love Me” and her appearance on the remix of All Time Low’s “Monsters” were welcome returns to punk pop Demi.
7. Ariana Grande - "Positions"
#7 Pop Songs, #1 Hot 100
Thank U, Next launched Ariana Grande’s imperial phase as the top reigning pop star, which she solidified this year by notching three #1 hits that felt less like huge songs than proof of her ubiquity. “Positions,” like the others, was only #1 for a week in America. But in the UK it topped the charts for 6 weeks, tied for the biggest song of the year, which is interesting given that she swapped out her usual Swedish megaproducers for Atlanta’s London On Da Track, which I would’ve assumed might have a little less international appeal.
8. Joel Corry f/ MNEK – “Head & Heart”
#25 Pop Songs, #99 Hot 100
The other song that topped the UK singles chart for 6 weeks this year was “Head & Heart,” which made a substantially smaller impact in the U.S. But it has a great ‘90s house groove and gave MNEK his first Hot 100 entry since “Never Forget You,” really underrated artist.
9. Doja Cat - "Say So"
#1 Pop Songs, #1 Hot 100
In the space of 2 years, Doja Cat went from a debut that didn’t even chart upon release to a giant #1 pop hit, with only a couple of intermediate steps (the viral hit and the R&B radio hit) in between turning around her trajectory. I find her output frustrating, because she’s clearly really talented and clearly kind of an annoying dickhead. But “Say So” held up pretty well as she twisted the arrangement in several different directions for various TV appearances this year, including this great MTV EMA performance.
10. Taylor Swift - "The Man"
#20 Pop Songs, #23 Hot 100
I think “The Man” would’ve done much better than any of the songs Taylor Swift released as the first three singles from Lover, could've been a great bold lead single. But it frustratingly kind of came and went as the fourth single after those lousy songs sapped all of the album’s momentum. And of course, Taylor Swift did have a #1 single this year when she surprise-released a new album, but I don’t think I could hum “Cardigan” with a gun to my head.
11.
Harry Styles - "Watermelon Sugar"
#1 Pop Songs, #1 Hot 100
I like how this song’s melody sounds kind of sad and forlorn, but Harry went in a horny direction with the lyric and it totally works. The brass arrangement sounded especially good on his “SNL” performance.
12. Lady Gaga f/ Ariana Grande - "Rain On Me"
#10 Pop Songs, #1 Hot 100
Literally everybody’s plans got fucked this year, but I think probably no album rollout fell apart more amidst the pandemic than Chromatica, when a proper Lady Gaga album after the triumph of A Star Is Born probably should’ve been a blockbuster on paper. But this song holds up pretty well, I wasn’t sure if Gaga and Grande had enough common ground for a good duet but they picked the right ‘90s dance groove that suited both of them.
13. Blackpink f/ Selena Gomez - "Ice
Cream"
#21 Pop Songs, #13 Hot 100
After years of building momentum, 2020 really felt like the tipping point for K-Pop in America, mainly because BTS got the first Hot 100 #1 for a Korean group (and then the second, and the third). But I kept trying to give “Dynamite” a chance and it just gets worse every time I hear it, a clumsy attempt at Bruno Mars-style retro funk that even Bruno would find too cheesy and sanitized. But one of K-Pop’s biggest girl groups, Blackpink, also reached a new high point on the U.S. charts this year, and its sound appealed to me a lot more. Every time I do these lists, I also put a list of the worst hits at the bottom of the post, and Selena Gomez has been a fixture of the worst list, with 10 appearances since 2015. But this is the first time she’s been on the best list. Congratulations, Selena!
14. Kane Brown f/ Swae Lee and Khalid - "Be Like
That"
#8 Pop Songs, #19 Hot 100
Kane Brown has been one of the biggest young stars in country music for a few years now, and he’s always seemed ready to dip a toe in to pop crossover territory, and started last year with a collaboration with Marshmello, continuing this year with songs with Ava Max, Nelly, and John Legend. But “Be Like That” was his big move, and as usual Swae Lee is the ingredient that really pulls the song together. It’s not, however, as good as the song called “It Be’sLike That Sometimes” that Prince wrote in 1986 that surfaced this year.
15.
Regard - "Ride It"
#17 Pop Songs, #62 Hot 100
TikTok’s influence loomed large over the pop charts this year, and one of the oddest trends was that remixes with sped up or slowed down vocals often overtook the originals in popularity. That meant, for instance, that SAINt JOHN had to navigate the weird situation of reorienting his career around a remix of “Roses” that pitched his voice up way higher than it is on all his other songs. And “Ride It” was even odder, a DJ from Kosovo’s pitched-down remix of a Jay Sean song from the same album that birthed his only big U.S. hit, 2009’s “Down.”
16. Zedd & Kehlani - "Good Thing"
#25 Pop Songs
Kehlani makes pretty good R&B records and is clearly well versed in the genre, but her voice has always scanned a little more pop to me. So it didn’t surprise me that her collaboration with one of the best EDM crossover producers ended up being one of my favorite things she’s ever done.
17. Chelsea Cutler – “Sad Tonight”
#32 Pop Songs
I never even heard this song when it was a minor hit earlier this year, but when I was going back through the charts for this list, I saw it and looked it up and wow, insanely catchy song, it deserved better.
18.
Jonas Brothers - "What A Man Gotta Do"
#14 Pop Songs, #16 Hot 100
After releasing a huge comeback album in 2019, the Jonas Brothers tried to jump right back in with the lead single from a follow-up album at the top of 2020, performing it at the Grammys and releasing a big splashy video full of movie homages. The song kind of fizzled quickly, but I love that driving acoustic guitar rhythm, I like this as much as any of the three big hits from Happiness Begins.
19.
SZA & Justin Timberlake - "The Other Side"
#17 Pop Songs, #61 Hot 100
“Can’t Stop The Feeling!” from the first Trolls movie was an enormous hit, Justin Timberlake’s biggest in almost a decade, so I kind of assumed the sequel’s soundtrack would make a big splash to. “The Other Side” didn’t really do that, and it felt like maybe JT should’ve tried to sound more current with SZA instead of bringing her into his slick retro disco vibe, but I liked the way their voices blend together on this.
20. Pink Sweat$ - "17"
#38 Pop Songs
The first time I heard “17” I really thought it was gonna become one of those massive pop ballads that people play at their weddings. It didn’t, but I’d bet money that Pink Sweat$ will have a huge hit in the next couple years, or write one for someone else, he’s got an ear.
The 10 Worst Pop Radio Hits of 2020:
1. Justin Bieber – “Yummy”
2. Justin Bieber f/ Quavo – “Intentions”
3. Justin Bieber f/ Benny Blanco – “Lonely”
4. Justin Bieber f/ Chance The Rapper – “Holy”
5. Surf Mesa f/ Emilee – “ily”
6. Trevor Daniel – “Falling”
7. Trevor Daniel and Selena Gomez – “Past Life”
8. JP Saxe f/ Julia Michaels – “If The World Was Ending”
9. Benee f/ Gus Dapperton – “Supalonely”
10. Miley Cyrus – “Midnight Sky”
#1 Pop Songs, #6 Hot 100
I still love One Direction and think Four is the best thing any of them has done, that Niall Horan’s solo work is about equal to Harry’s, and that critics have an annoying tendency to underrate vocal groups and overrate the members’ solo careers. That said, Harry Styles knocked it out of the park with Fine Line and I was impressed that him playing the long game of not making radio-friendly singles on his first album in order to make huge radio hits on his own terms on his second album.
#1 Pop Songs, #13 Hot 100
I put “Don’t Start Now” on my 2019 list, otherwise it’d be #1 here, but the follow-up single was right up there on almost the same level. I think it’s nice that they gave INXS a writing credit even though the similarity to “Need You Tonight” was kind of an accident, I love that song too.
#1 Pop Songs, #1 Hot 100
“Mood” winded up being bigger on Top 40 radio than anywhere else, but it and 24kGoldn’s previous single “City of Angels” charted on alternative radio first, and it kind of works equally well in both contexts. I enjoyed interviewing 24kGoldn a few weeks ago, he’s a funny kid who’s probably got a pretty good career ahead of him.
#1 Pop Songs, #1 Hot 100
I’ll admit that The Weeknd is one of the most influential R&B acts of the last decade, but I’ve never really cared much for his dour slow jams and have always preferred his big brash crossover pop moments. So I was happy when the Max Martin synth pop jam from After Hours overtook the Metro Boomin-produced “Heartless” as the biggest hit from After Hours.
#13 Pop Songs, #26 Hot 100
Maniac came out over a year after “Without Me” hit #1, so it kind of didn’t even feel like it was part of the album campaign, and I wish the single that actually came out alongside the album, “You Should Be Sad,” did better. But with its weird countryish Greg Kurstin track, it was kind of a different sound for Halsey, and I’m glad she took a risk with it. And it has a message that really resonates with me: that G-Eazy is a huge douchebag.
#12 Pop Songs, #18 Hot 100
It took people a decade for a lot of people to empathize with what Britney Spears was going through circa 2007, but I still see a lot of mean jokes about what Demi Lovato’s gone through the last few years, it bums me out. The songs she’s put out this year have been really good, though, especially “I Love Me,” really interested to see what her next album is like. And as someone who loves Lovato’s first two guitar-driven albums, Travis Barker’s “emo version”of “I Love Me” and her appearance on the remix of All Time Low’s “Monsters” were welcome returns to punk pop Demi.
#7 Pop Songs, #1 Hot 100
Thank U, Next launched Ariana Grande’s imperial phase as the top reigning pop star, which she solidified this year by notching three #1 hits that felt less like huge songs than proof of her ubiquity. “Positions,” like the others, was only #1 for a week in America. But in the UK it topped the charts for 6 weeks, tied for the biggest song of the year, which is interesting given that she swapped out her usual Swedish megaproducers for Atlanta’s London On Da Track, which I would’ve assumed might have a little less international appeal.
#25 Pop Songs, #99 Hot 100
The other song that topped the UK singles chart for 6 weeks this year was “Head & Heart,” which made a substantially smaller impact in the U.S. But it has a great ‘90s house groove and gave MNEK his first Hot 100 entry since “Never Forget You,” really underrated artist.
#1 Pop Songs, #1 Hot 100
In the space of 2 years, Doja Cat went from a debut that didn’t even chart upon release to a giant #1 pop hit, with only a couple of intermediate steps (the viral hit and the R&B radio hit) in between turning around her trajectory. I find her output frustrating, because she’s clearly really talented and clearly kind of an annoying dickhead. But “Say So” held up pretty well as she twisted the arrangement in several different directions for various TV appearances this year, including this great MTV EMA performance.
#20 Pop Songs, #23 Hot 100
I think “The Man” would’ve done much better than any of the songs Taylor Swift released as the first three singles from Lover, could've been a great bold lead single. But it frustratingly kind of came and went as the fourth single after those lousy songs sapped all of the album’s momentum. And of course, Taylor Swift did have a #1 single this year when she surprise-released a new album, but I don’t think I could hum “Cardigan” with a gun to my head.
#1 Pop Songs, #1 Hot 100
I like how this song’s melody sounds kind of sad and forlorn, but Harry went in a horny direction with the lyric and it totally works. The brass arrangement sounded especially good on his “SNL” performance.
#10 Pop Songs, #1 Hot 100
Literally everybody’s plans got fucked this year, but I think probably no album rollout fell apart more amidst the pandemic than Chromatica, when a proper Lady Gaga album after the triumph of A Star Is Born probably should’ve been a blockbuster on paper. But this song holds up pretty well, I wasn’t sure if Gaga and Grande had enough common ground for a good duet but they picked the right ‘90s dance groove that suited both of them.
#21 Pop Songs, #13 Hot 100
After years of building momentum, 2020 really felt like the tipping point for K-Pop in America, mainly because BTS got the first Hot 100 #1 for a Korean group (and then the second, and the third). But I kept trying to give “Dynamite” a chance and it just gets worse every time I hear it, a clumsy attempt at Bruno Mars-style retro funk that even Bruno would find too cheesy and sanitized. But one of K-Pop’s biggest girl groups, Blackpink, also reached a new high point on the U.S. charts this year, and its sound appealed to me a lot more. Every time I do these lists, I also put a list of the worst hits at the bottom of the post, and Selena Gomez has been a fixture of the worst list, with 10 appearances since 2015. But this is the first time she’s been on the best list. Congratulations, Selena!
#8 Pop Songs, #19 Hot 100
Kane Brown has been one of the biggest young stars in country music for a few years now, and he’s always seemed ready to dip a toe in to pop crossover territory, and started last year with a collaboration with Marshmello, continuing this year with songs with Ava Max, Nelly, and John Legend. But “Be Like That” was his big move, and as usual Swae Lee is the ingredient that really pulls the song together. It’s not, however, as good as the song called “It Be’sLike That Sometimes” that Prince wrote in 1986 that surfaced this year.
#17 Pop Songs, #62 Hot 100
TikTok’s influence loomed large over the pop charts this year, and one of the oddest trends was that remixes with sped up or slowed down vocals often overtook the originals in popularity. That meant, for instance, that SAINt JOHN had to navigate the weird situation of reorienting his career around a remix of “Roses” that pitched his voice up way higher than it is on all his other songs. And “Ride It” was even odder, a DJ from Kosovo’s pitched-down remix of a Jay Sean song from the same album that birthed his only big U.S. hit, 2009’s “Down.”
#25 Pop Songs
Kehlani makes pretty good R&B records and is clearly well versed in the genre, but her voice has always scanned a little more pop to me. So it didn’t surprise me that her collaboration with one of the best EDM crossover producers ended up being one of my favorite things she’s ever done.
#32 Pop Songs
I never even heard this song when it was a minor hit earlier this year, but when I was going back through the charts for this list, I saw it and looked it up and wow, insanely catchy song, it deserved better.
#14 Pop Songs, #16 Hot 100
After releasing a huge comeback album in 2019, the Jonas Brothers tried to jump right back in with the lead single from a follow-up album at the top of 2020, performing it at the Grammys and releasing a big splashy video full of movie homages. The song kind of fizzled quickly, but I love that driving acoustic guitar rhythm, I like this as much as any of the three big hits from Happiness Begins.
#17 Pop Songs, #61 Hot 100
“Can’t Stop The Feeling!” from the first Trolls movie was an enormous hit, Justin Timberlake’s biggest in almost a decade, so I kind of assumed the sequel’s soundtrack would make a big splash to. “The Other Side” didn’t really do that, and it felt like maybe JT should’ve tried to sound more current with SZA instead of bringing her into his slick retro disco vibe, but I liked the way their voices blend together on this.
#38 Pop Songs
The first time I heard “17” I really thought it was gonna become one of those massive pop ballads that people play at their weddings. It didn’t, but I’d bet money that Pink Sweat$ will have a huge hit in the next couple years, or write one for someone else, he’s got an ear.
1. Justin Bieber – “Yummy”
2. Justin Bieber f/ Quavo – “Intentions”
3. Justin Bieber f/ Benny Blanco – “Lonely”
4. Justin Bieber f/ Chance The Rapper – “Holy”
5. Surf Mesa f/ Emilee – “ily”
6. Trevor Daniel – “Falling”
7. Trevor Daniel and Selena Gomez – “Past Life”
8. JP Saxe f/ Julia Michaels – “If The World Was Ending”
9. Benee f/ Gus Dapperton – “Supalonely”
10. Miley Cyrus – “Midnight Sky”
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