Billboard Top 20 Ranking: Fall 2020

 Billboard Top 20 Ranking: Fall 2020

Week of October 24th, 2020

Alright, it’s that time of year again, time to rank the current Billboard Hot 100 Top 20. Now, if I were to use one phrase to describe this chart, it would be “middle of the road”. 19 of the 20 songs in this ranking scored between a two and a four out of five, and there are zero songs here that scored a 1/5 or below. Tallying that all up, this week scores a 63/100, two points lower than the Summer ranking, and pretty consistent with the scores of this year’s seasonal rankings, which have all been in the low-mid 60s. Now, let’s get right onto this ranking, starting with a song that has received a lot of attention…

MEDIOCRE TIER

#20: WAP by Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion (This Week: #2)

Hmm, apparently the title of this song is an acronym that stands for “Wet A** P***y”. Interesting, I guess she wrote a song about the time her cat fell into the pool. I mean, I’m assuming she has a pool in her backyard, being wealthy and all that, and I know that a lot of people have pet cats, but I’m a bit confused about the lines referencing MAC trucks and cobras and stuff, I wonder why she put tho-

(Ring ring, ring ring)

Oh, I’ve got a phone call, one second please…

(Hello…. uh-huh.... yeah, that’s the song I’m talking about… what do you mean I got the meaning of the song wrong.... OHHHH… haha, well then, that changes the context of the song completely, I get it now… alright, thanks for the correction… see ya later… bye now).

Apparently I got the meaning of the acronym wrong, as the p***y she was referencing wasn’t her cat, but rather her… well, you know. Listen, I’ve stated that über-sexual material like this doesn’t appeal to me, like at all. My line for sexual content in pop music lies approximately at Scream by Usher and Freak Like Me by Adina Howard (both of which have appeared on past best lists), and even they’re stretching it a bit, so there’s no way that I would ever listen to this on my own (excluding rankings and lists, and even then it makes me feel dirty as hell). However, two things spared it from winding up in the Terrible or Bad Tiers (although I could very well see myself placing it in the Bad Tier). First, the beat slaps. I know that a lot of people think it’s too minimalist, but I could listen to it on it’s own just fine, and two, Megan Thee Stallion’s flow is great. I think that Megan has legitimate potential to make some good or even great music in the future, but alas, this is not that day, and I won’t be returning to this until I listen to the Year-End list in about a month and a half.

(The entire segment at the beginning was a joke, of course I knew what “WAP” stood for). 

#19: Holy by Justin Bieber ft. Chance The Rapper (This Week: #14)

On the exact opposite note, here’s Justin Bieber making a religiously-tinged song that nonetheless falls flat on its face for me. I mentioned in my Best of 1987 that I like when Pop delves into religious subjects, but this song can’t seem to figure out whether it should be about God or his wife (I know that it’s supposed to have a double meaning, but it doesn’t pull it off very well IMO), thus leaving it completely useless. Yes, I know that I put a very similar song on my Best of 2016 list, and I can’t really give a good reason other than my soft spot for Country cheese, but that’s just how it turned out. With that said, I could see it growing on me in the future.

#18: For The Night by Pop Smoke ft. Lil Baby and DaBaby (This Week: #13)

I don’t have much more to say about this than what I said in the summer, which I may remind you was only two sentences. It’s in one ear and right back out the other.

#17: I Hope by Gabby Barrett ft. Charlie Puth (This Week: #8)

I’m just gonna say it: The remix of I Hope is significantly better than the original. Granted, it’s going from a 3/10 to a 5/10, but that’s an improvement nonetheless. This is less because of Charlie Puth and more because the production seems to have been smoothed out, thus winding up far less grating to my ears. Granted, it’s still not anything I’d listen to, but it’s highly probable that this is gonna miss the worst list if this is the version that is credited.

#16: What’s Poppin by Jack Harlow ft. DaBaby, Tory Lanez and Lil Wayne (This Week: #18)

Three months have passed, and yet my thoughts on this song have not changed. Pretty much everything I said about this song in July still stands (well, except saying that Tory Lanez ain’t bad, which hasn’t aged well, albeit for reasons unrelated to the song), and while it did grow a little bit, it wasn’t quite enough to get this song into the…

DECENT TIER

#15: Laugh Now Cry Later by Drake ft. Lil Durk (This Week: #3)

Well, whaddaya know, another boring Drake song has become a hit, and it’s one that I kinda enjoy. Granted, it’s going from Drake’s typical 4.5/10 to a very light 6, but that’s enough to get it into the Decent Tier, so that’s something, at least until I get bored with it (which will likely happen, considering that it’s Drake). Eh, it’s better than most of Drake’s output since 2015, so that’s a step in the right direction, maybe he’ll put out a great song in 2030 or something.

#14: Mood by 24kGoldn and Iann Dior (This Week: #1)

One notable trend over the past year and a half or so has been the incorporation of organic instrumentation into the Trap music that has dominated for the past five years, and that isn’t anything but a good thing IMO. A catchy Pop-Rap track with a guitar sample in the background, Mood is about 24k and Iann being in a relationship with a moody and indecisive girlfriend (two guys talking about one girl, that might suggest something). It’s a fine enough song, and I could see it growing on me (which I have said about many songs before to mixed results), and it’ll likely still be around in January of 2021, so we’ll see what I think of it by then.

#13: Go Crazy by Chris Brown and Young Thug (This Week: #15)

Wait, a Chris Brown song I don’t hate? Yup, this is actually a pretty solid R&B jam, with a decent beat and Chris Brown’s best vocal performance in quite a while. While some of the production is a bit cluttered (there’s this one sound in the back of the mix that is kinda irritating), I’m able to look past it for the most part. It’s probably his best hit in a good decade, and if we’re really gonna keep Chris Brown around into the 2020s, we should at least be able to get some decent music out of it.

#12: Rockstar by DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch (This Week: #7)

As with What’s Poppin, my thoughts from three months ago haven’t changed a whole lot, it’s still a decent Hip-Hop song with a nice guitar sample and flows that show the versatility of the two artists involved.

#11: Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi (This Week: #11)

Hey, this song is in the same position on my ranking as it is on the actual chart! That’s neat, I don’t know if that’s happened before (and I’m too lazy to look). Other than that tidbit, this is a significant improvement from Someone You Loved, as it’s both better written and better performed. While on the surface it sounds like a typical breakup song, it’s actually written about the aftermath of suicide, with the narrator wondering what he could’ve done to save the departed person’s life (it also serves as a tribute to his aunt, who took her own life when he was a child). While it hasn’t quite clicked for me yet, I can see it growing on me, possibly by a lot, so watch out for this one.

#10: Dreams by Fleetwood Mac (This Week: #12)

So, a random dude on TikTok skateboarded down the street while drinking juice with this in the background and all of the sudden this 43 year old Classic Rock staple is in the Top 20? Yeah, I’m genuinely surprised, and I’m sure that all the Le Wrong Generation folks are flipping out that real music is charting again (while I do technically agree with the Le Wrong Generation crowd that 20th Century Pop music is on average better than 21st Century Pop music, it’s more because there’s been much more bad stuff since the turn of the millennium than there was before, not because there isn’t any good stuff or that said good stuff is any less good). 

Now, as for the song itself, it’s a perfectly solid Country-tinged Soft Rock tune, held back from the 4/5 category in large part because Stevie Nicks sounds like a goat. BTW, the aforementioned TikTok dude was in a really rough spot before the video, and he couldn’t have needed the sudden burst of attention and support more, and I wish him the best in his endeavours.

#9: Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles (This Week: #9)

Oh, another song that is in the same position on the chart as in my ranking! Wow, I’m getting really lucky here. On another note, it’s yet another repeat from the summer ranking where my thoughts are largely the same, it’s a strong 6/10 Pop-Rock song that I’m glad has achieved success (unlike my sister, who has burned out on it because of overplay). It appears that Harry Styles has pulled far ahead of the other 1D members in terms of success, which isn’t surprising, as he was the main man of the group (although not to the same degree as, say, Justin Timberlake in NSYNC), and I could see him going far in the decade to come.

#8: Savage Love by Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo (This Week: #6)

You know, in a musical landscape with so many new names, it’s comforting to see an artist who’s been big for a good long while charting. Using a beat by New Zealander Jawsh 685 (albeit without Jawsh’s permission at first), Derulo sings about a girl who is closed off and how much he wants to get with her, if you know what I mean ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). Now, a few people in the music community have been upset by the use of the word “savage”, but I’ve got to disagree, because A: It’s not being used in a racial context, and B: Derulo is Black (although I wouldn’t be upset if a White artist used the word either, as it’d still be in a non-racial context). Overall, it’s decent song that makes me feel a bit more at home in the current music scene.

GOOD TIER

#7: Dynamite by BTS (This Week: #5)

Well, this is familiar. If you’re my age (older Gen Z), Dynamite by Taio Cruz is likely a childhood classic (it was pretty close to making the Honorable Mentions on my Best of 2010 list, as was his other hit Break Your Heart), so it’s like this song was made to induce Early 2010s nostalgia. However, Taio Cruz is far from the only inspiration for this song, as it’s instrumental is a solid slice of Pop-Funk, with sing-rapping on the verses that sounds straight out of Uptown Funk (which will very likely make my Best of 2015 list). BTS had several songs before this debut high but plunge faster than Niagara Falls, but it looks like they’ve finally found the formula to success.

#6: Be Like That by Kane Brown ft. Swae Lee and Khalid (This Week: #20)

Kane Brown combines his Pop-Country sensibilities with Swae Lee’s sing-rapping and Khalid’s lowkey, very Gen-Z R&B for a song that is an example of genre blending done right. As for the lyrics, it’s about the complicated feelings and emotions that come with a relationship. Sure, it’s not the most interesting song (hence the lack of material I have for this entry), but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Also, I think the music video for this song was shot at the same diner as both F**k You by Cee Lo Green and Want U Back by Cher Lloyd.

#5: Lemonade by Internet Money ft. Don Toliver, Gunna and Nav (This Week: #10)

I already talked about the increasing inclusion of organic instruments into Trap music over the past year or so. This has led to the quality of the genre leaping by a good notch or two, and it’s led to a fair deal of legitimately good stuff coming out of the genre, with Lemonade being possibly the clearest example to date. The beat contains a simple guitar lick before adding in a more standard but also infectious Trap beat over it, with a hook courtesy of Don Toliver that is just as catchy as said beat. Lyrically, much of the song is pretty standard Hip-Hop flexing about girls, cars, drugs and money, but with lines about showing gratitude about his well-off status, which add a nice detail to the song. While I don’t see it growing on me enough to make my best list (assuming it makes the 2020 Year-End list, which is no guarantee), it’s still a good song nonetheless.

#4: Got What I Got by Jason Aldean (This Week: #16)

Yeah, I’m a Country fan, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that two of my top four songs are from that genre, with the lower of the two being Got What I Got by Jason Aldean. A slow ballad, Got What I Got is about Jason not needing anything more in life when his wife is around him, over instrumentation that, while a bit darker than the song needs, still gets the job done. I could see this being a bit too sludgy for some, but honestly, I’m good with this.

#3: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd (This Week: #4)

I have had plenty of songs move up a tier between rankings during the year I’ve been doing these, but this is the first time I’ve actually moved a song down a tier. Now, don’t get me wrong, Blinding Lights is still a very, very good song, but it’s began to wear out it’s welcome more than a little, having been out for 11 months and yet still being in the Top 5 (and spending like half a year at #1 on the airplay charts, which seems way too long even as someone who doesn’t listen to Top 40 radio). However, I could very well see this song moving back into the Great Tier, so it’s still a contender for my Best of 2020 list.

#2: One Of Them Girls by Lee Brice (This Week: #17)

Ooh, this could ruffle a few feathers? After all, isn’t this about Lee Brice hitting on a girl who he knows is not interested? Well, yes it is, but I’ve got two defenses of my opinion. First, Lee Brice knows that he’s being sleazy by hitting on this particular lady, and he doesn’t have any pretensions to anything other than that. Second, the instrumentation is great, and Lee Brice has the pipes to back it up. Would I recommend hitting on an uninterested woman at a bar? No. Does that mean that a song with that subject matter can’t be a dang good song? Also a no, and don’t be surprised if this ends up making the jump to the…

GREAT TIER

#1: Circles by Post Malone (This Week: #19)

Listen, I know I just said that Blinding Lights has worn out its welcome after 11 months. Circles has been around for a whopping FOURTEEN months now, and it is STILL in the Top 20, so why aren’t I moving this down a tier too? Well, everytime I try to move this down a tier, I remember how completely and totally perfect this song is, and I can’t bring myself to do it. Circles by Post Malone will most likely go down as a titan of popular music in the decades to come, spanning the bridge between the 2010s and the 2020s and winding up as one of the biggest hit songs ever, and if any song is going to rewrite the record books to this extent, I can’t think of a better one than Circles by Post Malone.

Okay, that wraps up the final seasonal ranking of 2020. I’ll get to researching 1998 right away, and the lists should be up at sometime in November, which will bring us to the big one that will most likely rake in the views: the best and worst hit songs of 2020. I’ll get back to you soon, and until then, have a Happy Halloween!