Billboard Top 20 Ranking: Winter 2021

 Billboard Top 20 Ranked: Winter 2021

Week of January 16th, 2021

Hey there folks, and welcome to the first real update of Season Two of Gabingston’s Pop Reviews! Yes, we have arrived, Season Two is now officially here, and for the first review of the year, we have the Billboard Hot 100 Top 20 for the Week of January 16th, 2021. Now, these rankings were consistently in the 60-65/100 range last year, which made sense, considering that the year on whole was a 62/100. However, things have taken a noticeable step down in this chart, as the score for this week is a 57/100, the lowest of any chart I’ve talked about thus far. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s jump right into this Top 20, starting with a song that should’ve left the charts long ago…

BAD TIER

#20: I Hope by Gabby Barrett ft. Charlie Puth (This Week: #10)

...Why is this still here? I mean, the original came out in July of 2019, entered the Hot 100 early on last year and, through a well-timed remix, has stuck around all the way into 2021. This has absolutely zero reason to still be here, as unlike a certain other massive 2020 hit that is still in the Top 20, it’s not even a good song. Please, let’s leave this in 2020.

#19: Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish (This Week: #14)

Oh, I’m gonna get myself into hot water for this pick. Billie Eilish is a critical darling in this community, and I’ve been part of that (all four of her Year-End hits to date have been at least good, with two of them being outright great), but I’m gonna have to go against the grain here. Written in response to the haters that are inevitably going to come for any celebrity (especially one who gets as famous as Billie has gotten in a short period of time), she definitely states that she doesn’t care what her haters think and that they can screw off. 

However, this song has a fatal flaw: the tone. Combining the lyrical content with Billie’s signature whisper singing makes the entire song come across as though she was talking specifically to me. I know this isn’t true, I’m just some random blogger that Billie has almost certainly never heard of, but I can’t shake off the condescending tone of the song. This song gives me the same impression that Short Dick Man (my least favorite hit of 1995) did, down to the snarky spoken bits, and while this isn’t quite as insufferable as that song was (I could at least see this working, unlike Short Dick Man), it’s still really irritating to me personally. I can see others liking this song, and if you do, then go ahead and like it, it’s your opinion, but I’m gonna have to pass on this.

#18: Bang by AJR (This Week: #9)

Fun fact: I’m glad that this song has become a hit. Oh, don’t get me wrong, this song is a total clusterf**k that I’m pretty comfortable in calling bad, but I’m still glad this got big. You see, this song being an actual hit that makes the Year-End list means that Mark from Spectrum Pulse will inevitably rant about this song on his Worst of 2021 list come year’s end, and he will almost certainly not be the only critic/reviewer to put this on their respective Worst of 2021 list, so this will provide a lot of entertaining material. Is this a good song? Absolutely not, but it is a song that I am eagerly awaiting the reaction to, which makes this song worth it in my book.

MEDIOCRE TIER

#17: Positions by Ariana Grande (This Week: #2)

From the first time I listened to this song right after it came out, I knew it was my new definitive mediocre song. While there isn’t anything really bad about this song, it’s completely lacking in good qualities, leaving it with roughly the same texture as stale bread. The song sounds like it desperately wants to unleash into a Hard Rock banger, but Lord forbid we have Rock music in 2020, so it’s basically resigned to be a blander version of On My Mind by Ellie Goulding. When it comes to the lyrical content, I thought the title was going to hint at something a bit more… mature, but what we actually get is something safe for 30-40 something Soccer Moms to play while they bring their kids to practice. Overall, this is just wasted potential, and while I possibly see it growing on me, it’s likely that I’ll never see it as anything but the definition of mediocrity.

#16: Kings And Queens by Ava Max (This Week: #15)

Hold up, the Sweet But Psycho girl has a second hit? Well, that’s unexpected, she had One-Hit Wonder written all over her. Well, how is her improbable second hit? Eh, it’s fine. While the aforementioned Sweet But Psycho sounded like Down by Jay Sean (a strong contender for a future Best of 2009 list), Kings And Queens has a similar chorus melody to You Give Love A Bad Name by Bon Jovi (which is pretty much a shoe-in if I ever get around to a Best of 1986 list). Despite the strong melody, the song doesn’t do much for me, as I, a male, cannot relate to or remotely care about the lyrical content, which is pretty standard feminist/girl power stuff. That’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with this, but it’s definitely not down my alleyway. The other reason I can’t click with this song is due to Ava Max’s yodeling towards the end of the song, which kills whatever vibe this song had. So, in spite of the melody and the actual, literal guitar solo, I cannot connect with this song at all, sorry.

#15: Body by Megan Thee Stallion (This Week: #16)

Sure, it’s repetitive as all heck, and the lyrics are about as deep and thoughtful as the lyrics to Stupid Hoe, but at least it has some energy and a bouncy beat. Still, this isn’t exactly the most impressive song, and it might actually shrink on me, so don’t be surprised if this ends up lower in future rankings.

#14: For The Night by Pop Smoke ft. Lil Baby and DaBaby (Peak: #11)

I’ve already talked about this song twice in the Summer and Fall 2020 rankings, and in each of them I only had a sentence or two. Needless to say, that’s going to continue to be the case here, as I still don’t have anything to say about this song.

DECENT TIER

#13: 34+35 by Ariana Grande (This Week: #13)

Hmm, a math-themed song, eh? That’s an interesting concept for a song, I just gotta check what that adds up to.

(Does a bit of quick math)

34+35=69

… Oh…

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Jokes aside, it’s pretty obvious that this song is a song about boinking, or more specifically about a certain… bedroom practice. I mean, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what 34+35 adds up to, and that certain number isn’t exactly foreign to popular music. The filthy lyrics are in stark contrast to the elegant strings in the instrumentation, which was 100% intentional according to Grande. While a song this obviously dirty should make me a bit uncomfortable, this song for the most part walks the tightrope, and thus ends up in the Decent Tier.

#12: Holy by Justin Bieber ft. Chance The Rapper (This Week: #4)

From a song about sex to a song about God, Holy by Justin Bieber ft. Chance The Rapper has gone up a tier from last time. Yeah, the song’s just clicking more for me now, although I must point out this line from Chance The Rapper’s part:

“I know the spots that got the best weed, we goin' next week”

Umm, you’re not a Rasta, are you? I don’t know why he decided to put a line about the devil’s lettuce in a song with religious themes, but hey, what do I know? Other than that misstep, this is a solid song that I’ve come to appreciate on some level.

#11: What You Know Bout Love by Pop Smoke (This Week: #20)

Ah, this is a nice song. While Pop Smoke had forayed into R&B before, this is where he actually sticks the landing, as he’s not singing about ejacutlating on his girl’s sheets here. Rather, it’s about his relationship with his girlfriend while he was still alive, sampling Ginuwine’s Differences in the process. It’s a nice song, and it’s a shame that Pop Smoke will never have the chance to improve upon this solid foundation.

#10: Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake ft. Lil Durk (This Week: #8)

Still one of Drake’s best singles in years, well above the 4/10 mush that he usually pumps out. It could be better, but I’ll take what I can get from The Least Interesting Man In The World. 

#9: Lonely by Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco (This Week: #18)

Sure, Justin sounds like a dying cow when he goes “I’m so L0o0o0o0o0onley”, and there is some unnecessary cursing, but it’s a sincere enough piano ballad for me to look past those issues. 

#8: Dakiti by Bad Bunny and Jay Cortez (This Week: #17)

While I haven’t been kind to this genre in the past (see my Worst of 2017 and Worst of 2019 lists), the time has come for me to compliment a Reggaeton song. While this song still uses the same “dun-da-dun-da” beat, the dark, ominous synths give this a completely different vibe, like that of a storm approaching on the horizon. While I (an ignorant Anglo) cannot understand a single word of the song, the lyrical translation seems to suggest a theme similar to That’s What I Like by Bruno Mars, which one may recall was on my Best of 2017 list. Overall, this is a solid song that definitely falls on the better end of the Reggaeton genre. Hope that this can become more of the sound of the genre in the future.

#7: Go Crazy by Chris Brown ft. Young Thug (This Week: #5)

So, it looks as though Yeah 3X is likely going to fall just short of my upcoming Best of 2011 list (which is likely to come out around the end of January or the beginning of February). That’s a real shame, as that might be the only time Chris Brown has a shot to make one of my best lists. With that out of the way, Go Crazy is probably his best hit since that song (which was a hit exactly a decade ago), and while I don’t think he deserved to stick around this long (especially considering his personal life), it’s nice to hear some bright spots in his mostly subpar discography (at least in the past decade).

#6: Anyone by Justin Bieber (This Week: #6)

Justin Bieber’s career has seen yet another resurgence over the past year, with his massive success in 2020 appearing to carry over into the new year. His New Years Day release Anyone debuts in the Top 10 this week, with one of his stronger songs in this new era. With 80s-inspired keys and a melody on the verses that reminds me a bit of If You’re Gone by Matchbox 20, which made my Best of 2001 list last year (gosh, that was nearly a year ago, wasn’t it?), Anyone is probably his best song since Let Me Love You (a song on my Best of 2016 list, yes I like referencing my past lists). I could definitely see this growing on me, as songs usually take a while to fully click with me. I’m sure that Biebs has got an album on the way (considering that quarantine, for all it’s isolation and misery, does provide a perfect opportunity to record), and it’s looking better than his last project, that’s for sure. 

GOOD TIER

#5: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (This Week: #3)

This is a good song, but can it just die already? It’s been out for over a year, was the biggest hit of 2020 and has already shattered the record for most weeks in the Top 10, it needs to go (especially now that Save Your Tears is being pushed as a single). I don’t expect it to go away, however, as The Weeknd will be headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show in a few weeks, which will likely send this song back to #1 after nine months. Once again, I still think it’s a good song (and I put it as an Honorable Mention on my Best of 2020 list), but BOY am I sick of it.

#4: Lemonade by Internet Money and Gunna ft. Don Toliver and Nav (This Week: #12)

Still one of the best Hip-Hop songs I’ve heard in a good while. The beat and melody are both earworms, and each of the rappers provide strong performances. This is Trap music at it’s best, and while I don’t really go out of my way to listen to it, it’s still an enjoyable slice of Pop-Rap.

#3: Mood by 24kGoldn ft. Iann Dior (This Week: #1)

Just as I thought in my last seasonal ranking, this song has grown on me (despite a certain critic’s disdain for it). The guitar-driven beat is effortlessly catchy and signals a possible return of Rock influences to the Hot 100 after a dry spell through most of the 2010s, which is nothing but a positive. The lyrics about a strained relationship work well with the backdrop, and the two vocalists sound effortlessly comfortable over the beat. Side note, am I the only one who gets 24kGoldn and Iann Dior confused on their respective parts?

GREAT TIER

#2: Better Together by Luke Combs (This Week: #19)

I mean… it’s a Luke Combs song, of course it was going to end up in the Great Tier. This is actually the first opportunity I’ve had to talk about Luke on a Top 20 Ranking, and boy does he deliver here (as per usual for the King Midas of Contemporary Country). A stripped-back piano ballad, Luke poetically lists things that go better together, and concludes that he and his lady Nicole (who he married in August of last year) are one of those things that are better together than they are apart. Luke’s voice sells it perfectly, as per usual, and it’s a truly excellent song. However, as close as the decision for #1 was, it was not able to take the top spot, so who could’ve possibly topped the one artist I’d call myself a stan for? Well...

#1: Levitating by Dua Lipa ft. DaBaby (This Week: #7)

Dua Lipa was on a roll in 2020, and that appears to have continued into 2021, as her current hit Levitating (featuring DaBaby, who was also huge last year) is one of the best Pop songs we’ve gotten in a good, long time. With a spacey, otherworldly Disco beat as the base of the song, Dua Lipa sings about a night out dancing and having a good time about as well as one can. DaBaby comes in and drops an absolutely fire verse, and the bridge towards the end of the song is Pop bliss. Once the virus that shall not be named passes, this is gonna kill in clubs and at school dances, and I for one will jam to this song for months to come. Levitating is a near-perfect Pop song, and it is my pick for the best song in the Billboard Top 20 as of January 16th, 2021. I’ll get my 2011 lists out soon, and I wish you all a good day, I'll see you next time!