Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2013
Alright, now that the trash has been taken out, it’s time to get to the stuff I’ve been eager to cover, the good stuff. Here are the Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2013! While I expected this year to have more great songs than it actually did (there were several songs like Locked Out Of Heaven, Little Talks, The Other Side and Carry On that were close to making it), the 16 5/5 songs that debuted on this Year-End list still gave a lot to offer, whether it be in terms of variety, substance or quality. While high quality would be implied by the title of “Best Hit Songs of X Year” or “5/5 song”, 2013 went past that to provide some of the highest highs of any year in the 2010s. The best hits of this year aren’t just great, they can go toe to toe with the classics of yore. First, however, we’ve gotta get through the Honorable Mentions, including one that didn’t make the Year-End, but I think deserves a shout-out anyway.
Honorable Mention: Rap God by Eminem (Peak: #7, Year-End: N/A)
“Uh, summa-lumma, dooma-lumma, you assumin' I'm a human
What I gotta do to get it through to you I'm superhuman?
Innovative and I'm made of rubber
So that anything you say is ricochetin' off of me
And it'll glue to you and
I'm devastating, more than ever demonstrating
How to give a motherf**kin' audience
A feeling like it's levitating
Never fading, and I know the haters are forever waiting
For the day that they can say I fell off, they'll be celebrating
'Cause I know the way to get 'em motivated
I make elevating music, you make elevator music”
Yeah, I think enough has been said. On to the actual Honorable Mentions now.
Honorable Mention: Get Lucky by Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams (Peak: #2, Year-End: #14)
We commence the Honorable Mentions with one of the most obvious picks for a Best of 2013 list, Get Lucky by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams. The biggest of 2013’s several Disco throwback hits (a topic we will return to later on, spoiler alert), Get Lucky is pretty much flawless as a composition. Nile Rodgers’ funky guitar lick blends perfectly with the gentle hits of piano, Pharrell’s smooth vocals and Daft Punk being, well, Daft Punk. Honestly, this is so perfect of a song that it’s actually kinda boring, sort of like Rather Be by Clean Bandit in that way, which is why it’s not on the list proper. With that said, Get Lucky is a great pop song that definitely deserved to hit #1 over Blurred Lines.
Honorable Mention: Safe And Sound by Capital Cities (Peak: #8, Year-End: #29)
One of the defining One-Hit Wonders of the 2010s, Capital Cities scored big time with Safe And Sound, a synth-pop song that blends a buzzing synth groove, hits of guitar, an iconic horn line and the two guys’ suspiciously similar voices singing in unison to create yet another so-perfect-that-it’s-boring pop song. I’ve always thought that this song has meme potential as a Rickroll-type bait and switch (especially if you use the lyric video that has no wait before the music), and who knows, maybe that’ll happen. Either way, this upbeat, positive song was something I needed in a very turbulent time in my life, and everything turned out OK, so even if it felt like the sky was falling down, everything turned out to be safe and sound.
Honorable Mention: Demons by Imagine Dragons (Peak: #6, Year-End: #62)
Oh, what convenient timing to talk about this song. In case you don’t know, this song has become a meme lately, namely the “this is my kingdom come” line being turned into a line about… a different kind of “come”, let’s just say. Memes aside, Demons is a song that resonates with me on a personal level, whether it be with my first serious experience with mental health issues occuring around this time or present me struggling with self-loathing and a lack of direction. I know this band isn’t exactly cool to like or praise nowadays (they’ve basically replaced Nickelback as Rock music’s punching bag), but this is my list and my opinion, and I just happen to like this song.
Honorable Mention: Wake Me Up by Avicii (Peak: #4, Year-End: #19)
Our final Honorable Mention is quite possibly the defining EDM song of the 2010s. Combining acoustic guitar and Aloe Blacc’s uncredited vocals with the EDM production of Avicii (R.I.P.), Wake Me Up blends both acoustic and electronic elements seamlessly and splendidly. The lyrics are about wanting to enjoy the fun and freedom of youth before it passes by, not wanting to miss out on the opportunities one has when they have their whole life in front of them (or at least that’s what I got from the Genius page). As a 20 year old who nonetheless feels as though his best days are behind him and is experiencing his quarter-life crisis, I wish I could feel that way about myself. Funny that this song about not wanting to lose one’s youth makes me feel kinda nostalgic (2013 for me is a strange blend of nostalgia and trauma, although the latter may be a bit too strong of a word), but hey, that’s just how it goes sometimes I guess. Press F for Avicii. F
Now, on to #10.
#10: I Want Crazy by Hunter Hayes (Peak: #19, Year-End: #72)
As I mention in the prelude to my worst list, 2013 was the year that Bro Country completely overran the genre of Country music. While it did originate around the turn of the decade, ‘13 was the first year that the Bros made up the majority of what was charting in Nashville. Keyword: the majority, not all. There were some Country songs this year that weren’t Bro Country, and they’ll be taking up the bottom two spots of this list. The #10 spot on this list goes to I Want Crazy by Hunter Hayes, the second of the two hits he scored between 2012 and 2013. While his first hit Wanted was an incredibly sappy love song (that I just happen to like), his second hit is definitely the better one.
Compositionally, I Want Crazy is a Country-Rock jam that is filled with vibrant and varied instruments. Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, organic percussion, mandolin, you name it. The song is filled with little changes in structure and composition that fill it with life. This is basically the same formula Keith Urban used to great success in the 2000s before he sold out (Keith Urban is basically the Adam Levine of Country music), and Hunter flawlessly replicates it here.
That brings me to the lyrics, which are pretty much summed up by the title of the song. He’s not satisfied with playing it safe, because you might as well dive in head first when you’re crazy in love.
“But I don't want "good" and I don't want "good enough"
I want "can't sleep, can't breathe without your love"
Front porch and one more kiss, it doesn't make sense to anybody else
Who cares if you're all I think about,
I've searched the world and I know now,
It ain't right if you ain't lost your mind
Yeah, I don't want easy, I want crazy
Are you with me baby? Let's be crazy”
Hunter’s vocals are just as upbeat and vibrant as the instrumentation and lyrics, once again resembling Keith Urban in his prime (Somebody Like You in particular). I may be going a bit heavy on the comparisons here, but it’s all done in praising this fantastic piece of Country music. With that said, it’s not the best Country hit of 2013, which brings us to the #9 song on this list.
#9: Downtown by Lady Antebellum (Peak: #29, Year-End: #93)
You know what, I’ve liked quite a few Lady Antebellum songs. Need You Now and Just A Kiss were both Honorable Mentions on their respective lists, and Bartender was a pretty good song that might’ve deserved an HM in retrospect. However, they’ve finally cracked the list proper with Downtown.
Sonically, Downtown is quite a departure from their previous song. While Need You Now nailed the vibe of drinking away your post-breakup sorrow and Just A Kiss was incredibly cheesy and clean, Downtown is a laid-back jam that gives the vibe of a chill bar or party. It’s not often that you’d hear me describe a Country song as “groovy”, but that’s exactly what this song is. Lyrically, Downtown is about the lead singer wanting her boyfriend/husband/whatever to take her downtown.
“I don't know why you don't take me downtown like you got anywhere better to be
Talk it up and give me the go round round like a good time tease
I'm only counting on your cancellation
When I should be counting on you at my door
Did you forget about how we went around
I don't know why you don't take me downtown anymore”
While it seems pretty straightforward, Hillary Scott’s delivery and the groove make me feel like her asking her man to “take her downtown” might mean something a bit more adult than a simple dinner date in town ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). I don’t know, that might just be conjecture, but it’s definitely a possibility. Either way, this song is a fairly unique take on Country music, and the best Country hit of 2013. However, we’ve still got a long way to go, so we might as well move on to #8.
#8: Hall Of Fame by The Script ft. Will.I.Am (Peak: #25, Year-End: #85)
N O S T A L G I A
Ok, there’s more to why I like this song than that, but that’s the majority of it. The Script scored three hit songs in the first third of the 2010s, all of which I liked. Breakeven and For The First Time were both Honorable Mentions, but it’s their third and final hit, Hall Of Fame, that finally gets them onto the list proper.
If I were to describe this song in one word, it would be “anthemic”. Granted, it was a song designed to be just that. Between the piano intro, the sing-along chorus, the motivational and inspirational lyrics, you can tell this was made to be played at High School and College graduation ceremonies. I feel pretty comfortable in calling this one of the cheesiest hit songs of the 2010s. However, it’s that cheesiness that makes this song so endearing to me.
In case you haven’t figured out by now, 2013 was the year of the rough transition from my childhood to my teenage years, and this song snuck right in as the curtains closed on my childhood for the final time. While I have had fond memories and good times since then, things never returned to where they were before, and there have been periods of mental illness pretty much every year since then (the possible exception being 2016, which was the best of my teenage years, even if the music did suck ass). This song represents the last days of childhood innocence before it all came crashing down, and for me, that’s all I need to call it one of my favorite hits of the year.
“Standin' in the Hall of Fame (Yeah)
And the world's gonna know your name (Yeah)
'Cause you burn with the brightest flame (Yeah)
And the world's gonna know your name (Yeah)
And you'll be on the walls of the Hall of Fame”
#7: Counting Stars by OneRepublic (Peak: #2, Year-End: #63)
You know, I find it strange how a well-established act can have a colossal hit and then disappear from the face of the earth right after its album cycle ends. Seriously, Counting Stars was an absolutely mammoth hit between 2013 and 2014, and yet after only one more hit (Love Runs Out) they completely vanished, with their next album scoring no songs in the top half of the Hot 100. It becomes even more inexplicable when said huge hit was also really, really good.
Production wise, Counting Stars is a Pop-Rock song with a strong backbone of acoustic guitar, percussion, piano and some sort of faint instrument in the background on the chorus that I can’t quite make out. It has a very OneRepublic isn’t really the hardest band out there (with the possible exception of Stop And Stare), and they’re definitely at the far end of the Soft Rock end of the Rock spectrum, but that doesn’t make them any less of an enjoyable band (this is their fourth appearance on one of my best lists, after all), and the composition of this song is Pop Rock at its very best.
Now, how about those lyrics? Counting Stars is about the stress of having to make ends meet, and figuring that there are more important things in life than just the amount of money you make, which is a sentiment that I’m sure can resonate with anyone who’s ever struggled to make ends meet (not me, I haven’t left my parents’ house yet).
“Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars”
Ignoring the fact that you have to be asleep to dream, this is one of the most instantly identifiable hooks of the 2010s, which is saying something considering how many instantly identifiable hooks the 2010s provided (especially in the first half of the decade). As I mentioned earlier, OneRepublic didn’t really have much success after the Native album cycle ended, even though a song like, say, Kids should’ve been a huge hit. However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate this great song and be glad that it was as big as it was. Now, how about a song that got extremely lucky to make the Year-End list in the first place?
#6: Still Into You by Paramore (Peak: #24, Year-End: #100)
Yep, 2013’s Mr. Irrelevant happened to be one of the best hits on the entire year-end list. Granted, that shouldn’t be a huge surprise coming from Paramore, who were one of the better bands out of the 2000s Pop Punk scene, and one that was able to successfully transition into the Rock-averse Pop landscape of the 2010s. How did they do it? Simple, make a song that is a pure burst of joy.
Knowing that angst-ridden, Emo adjacent Pop Punk would be dead in the water in the 2010s (at least the first half), Paramore decided to mix their Rock sound with the bubblegum pop that was huge in the first few years of the 2010s. The electric guitar and Rock percussion is still present here, but with the new addition of synth and even some new bells and whistles, especially in the bridge, which sets an ecstatic and cheerful vibe effortlessly. This is also the case with the lyrics, which could basically be considered the sequel to The Only Exception, which you may remember was my favorite hit song of 2010. In that song, Hayley is setting aside her cynicism to open herself up to this guy. In this song, their relationship has been going strong for years, and showing no signs of stopping.
“I should be over all the butterflies
But I'm into you (I'm into you)
And baby even on our worst nights
I'm into you (I'm into you)
Let 'em wonder how we got this far
'Cause I don't really need to wonder at all
Yeah, after all this time I'm still into you”
In addition to the joyous production and lovestruck lyrics, we’ve got one of the best frontwomen in Rock history delivering said lyrics. Hayley Williams is a fantastic singer, and she lets it all loose here, going into full-on belting right before the final chorus. Hayley is the icing on the top of this delicious, delicious cake. Now, this story may not have had a storybook ending, as Hayley and her husband Chad Gilbert got a divorce after only a year of marriage, but that doesn’t take away from this song one bit. It’s a shame that Paramore’s most recent album After Laughter didn’t produce any hits, but considering that Pop Punk and Pop Rock are making a bit of a comeback right now (including a certain song that sounds more than a little bit like Misery Business), maybe they can have a resurgence. I can only hope…
#5: Thrift Shop/Can’t Hold Us by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (Peak: #1/#1, Year-End: #1/#5)
From the #100 song of the year to the #1 song of the year, we’ve got a Macklemore tie at #5 on this list. Macklemore blew the F up in 2013, scoring three big hits this year, including two that went to #1, and it’s those two I want to focus on. Thrift Shop and Can’t Hold Us were not only huge, but they also deserved to be, and I think it’s time to get to the reasons why.
First up, Thrift Shop, the biggest hit song of 2013. This song spent six weeks at the top of the charts, which becomes more impressive when you consider that its run at #1 was bisected by Harlem Shake’s five weeks at #1. Enough with the chart performance, though, how about the song itself? What exactly is this song about?
Well, you know how a lot of rappers brag about spending a lot of money on luxury items like watches, cars, clothing and the like? Well, how about if you flipped that premise on its head, and bragged about spending as little money as possible. That is what Thrift Shop is about, having only $20 on you and making the most of it at a Goodwill or something.
“I'm gonna pop some tags
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket
I, I, I'm hunting, looking for a come-up
This is f**king awesome”
The sax line and Wanz’s hook are instantly recognizable, Macklemore is an immensely likable performer, and the song is filled with funny and quotable lines like the following:
“Nah walk up to the club like, what up, I got a big c**k!”
“Probably shoulda washed this, smells like R. Kelly's sheets
(Piss)
But s**t, it was ninety-nine cents!”
He should’ve listened to his mind instead of his body.
“They be like, Oh, that Gucci. That's hella tight
I'm like, Yo that's fifty dollars for a T-shirt”
You know what, fifty dollars for a T-shirt IS ridiculous! Why should I spend that much when I could get something that looks good and feels good for a fraction of that price?
And, of course, my favorite line in the whole song:
“The people like, Damn! That's a cold ass honkey!”
I don’t care who you are, that’s funny right there!
So yeah, Thrift Shop is awesome, but it wasn’t Macklemore’s only #1 hit this year, which brings me to Can’t Hold Us. Not only was Can’t Hold Us a second smash hit for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, but I’d argue that it was even better than their first one. Ryan Lewis’ beat is locomotive and energetic, with the piano serving as the backbone to the lively percussion, horns and synths. In a decade that became dominated by dull, lifeless Trap music, Can’t Hold Us shows the best of Hip-Hop production in the 2010s, and the music scene would’ve been better off if more songs had sounded like this.
Lyrically, Can’t Hold Us is about building one’s career from the ground up and not needing any sort of distant, impersonal record label to do so, only needing the support of one’s fans and surrounding community, and guess what, IT WORKED! Despite being independent of any label, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis scored two #1 hits and their album The Heist went to #2 on the album charts. Oh, and Ray Dalton’s chorus is fantastic to boot.
“Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Can we go back? This is the moment
Tonight is the night, we'll fight 'til it's over
So we put our hands up
Like the ceiling can't hold us
Like the ceiling can't hold us”
The ceiling truly couldn’t hold this song, which became one of the biggest hits of the year and made Mack & Ryan superstars for one brief moment. Sure, they may not have had much success after 2015, but considering that they gave us two great songs, I’m just glad they were here.
#4: I Will Wait by Mumford & Sons (Peak: #12, Year-End: #52)
In the Early 2010s, Indie music of all stripes started to gain mainstream exposure. This started as a trickle around 2011, before exploding into the mainstream in 2012, becoming one of the biggest trends in music that year. This wave of indie music continued into 2013, with acts like Of Monsters And Men, Lana Del Rey (via a remix) and Passenger scoring hits this year. However, easily the best Indie hit of 2013 came courtesy of Mumford & Sons, one of the heavyweights of Early 2010s Indie music, with their biggest ever hit I Will Wait.
Mumford & Sons were no strangers to chart success before this song, with Little Lion Man cracking the Top 50 (and hitting #3 in Australia) and The Cave hitting the Top 30, but it was this song that was easily their most successful in the United States. The instrumentation is filled with all sorts of instruments like multiple layers of guitar, banjo, piano and what I think is some organ in the background of the chorus. This Bluegrass-esque blend of instrumentation and vocal harmonies would make you think that these guys were good ol’ boys from the backwoods of Appalachia, not a band based in London with a lead singer born in SoCal. It is a fantastic sounding song that showcases the best of the rootsier side of music.
Moving from the production to the lyrics, things don’t stop being top notch, because I Will Wait is an excellently written song.
“Well I came home
Like a stone
And I fell heavy into your arms
These days of dust
Which we've known
Will blow away with this new sun
But I'll kneel down
Wait for now
And I'll kneel down
Know my ground
And I will wait, I will wait for you (X2)”
Is this song about a romantic partner, or is it about God? I don’t know, it works both ways. Mumford & Sons has been known to incorporate spiritual and religious imagery into their music, and this is definitely a case of that. Add Marcus Mumford’s vocals and the aforementioned Bluegrass inspired instrumentation and harmonies, and you’ve got a song with great lyrics, great instrumentation and great vocals. It’s all I could ask for in a song, and it’s one of the best hit songs of the year.
“Now I'll be bold
As well as strong
And use my head alongside my heart
So take my flesh
And fix my eyes
A tethered mind free from the lies”
On another note, how about an artist who is almost always a shoe-in for these kinds of lists?
#3: When I Was Your Man/Treasure by Bruno Mars (Peak: #1/#5, Year-End: #8/#30)
Oh, Gabinston likes Bruno Mars. Shocker, I know. Bruno Mars is the best male popstar of the 2010s, and it’s not particularly close. After becoming famous at the beginning of the decade doing hooks for other artists, Bruno soon became a star in his own right, scoring massive hits like Just The Way You Are, Grenade and It Will Rain. This success continued on his 2012 album Unorthodox Jukebox, with Bruno scoring a trio of huge hits off of the album, from the lead single Locked Out Of Heaven (which fell just short of making this list) to these two songs right here, When I Was Your Man and Treasure.
Starting off, we’ve got When I Was Your Man, Bruno’s biggest hit of the year and one of the best #1 hits of the 2010s. When I Was Your Man is a stripped-back piano ballad, one of the two big piano ballads that were hits this year (the other being Stay by Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko, which is a fine enough song in itself). The song portrays Bruno reflecting upon a breakup, thinking about what he could’ve done and should’ve done to keep her.
“I should have bought you flowers
And held your hand
Should have gave you all my hours
When I had the chance
Take you to every party 'cause all you wanted to do was dance
Now my baby's dancing
But she's dancing with another man”
After the second chorus, the song starts building and becoming more dramatic. One would expect Bruno to make his move, to try to win her back. However, at its most climactic moment, right when you expect him to spill his heart out and say that he still loves her and that he wants her back, this happens:
“I hope he buys you flowers
I hope he holds your hand
Give you all his hours
When he has the chance
Take you to every party
'Cause I remember how much you loved to dance
Do all the things I should have done
When I was your man (X2)”
He swallows his pride and admits that it’s over, wishing her and her new man well on their endeavors. It’s one of the most mature moments I’ve ever heard in a pop song, and it solidifies this song as quite possibly the best #1 hit of the decade.
However, we’re not quite done with Bruno yet, as we’ve still got Treasure, his top 5 hit from later in the year to look at. I don’t know how much I have to say about Treasure other than that it is one of the most perfect pop songs of the 2010s. It’s basically to 2013 what Say So was to 2020, a Disco throwback that is pretty much flawless in every way (here’s a mashup of the two, by the way). It’s Bruno doing his own version of Rock With You by Michael Jackson, also known as one of the most perfect pop songs ever made (and here’s a mashup of those two songs). Everything from the funky bassline to the hits of twinkling keys to the lyrics and Bruno’s voice is on point here. It’s Disco/Post-Disco distilled to perfection, and it wouldn’t be the last time Bruno would be featured on an excellent Disco throwback (#StreamSkate). It’s fitting that this song is called Treasure, because that’s just what it is. A golden star, a song that can make my pop dreams come true, and I’m gonna Treasure this song for years to come.
#2: Clarity by Zedd ft. Foxes (Peak: #8, Year-End: #24)
If there’s any genre that I think best defines the 2010s, it would be EDM. This is not only because of how big it was during the decade, but because its span of relevance (in the U.S. at least) pretty much corresponds with the 2010s. It began to gain steam around 2011, in large part because the ongoing Club Boom began to incorporate EDM elements like drops into club songs, before going on to be a constant presence up until the genre sputtered out between 2019 and 2020, being mostly absent from the charts today in 2021. It was around 2013 in particular that EDM basically succeeded the Club Boom as the main source of Dance music on the charts, with at least a half dozen EDM songs making this Year-End list, and aside from the rancid I Love It, these songs were by and large pretty good. There were a few EDM songs this year, however, that were able to transcend just being “pretty good” to become some of my favorite hits of the year, and maybe the entire decade, one of those being the song taking the #2 spot on this list, Clarity by Zedd ft. Foxes.
In his review of The Middle, Todd In The Shadows once said that Zedd might be the best producer alive, and while I don’t know if I’d go that far, his work on this song is incredible. The EDM songs I like tend to have a gigantic, all-encompassing sound, and Clarity definitely fits that bill. This song builds over the verses and pre-drop buildup to become absolutely titanic in scale, and while I initially considered the strange, Gregorian Chant-ish drop kind of a vibe killer, it’s grown on me significantly over time, sort of like the backing vocals on Diamonds (I’d attribute this to the “boom boom” sound that plays, I like that). At the very least, it doesn’t detract from the rest of the song, and ooh boy is there a lot more to this song than just the production and drop.
Lyrically, the song is about reconnecting with an ex and falling back into each other all over again, even though both of them know that it will most likely fail. They’ve tried to go their separate ways, but neither of them could make it without the other, so dang it, they’re gonna try again, and again and again.
“'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need
Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why
If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?
If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?”
To paraphrase another hit from this year, it may feel so good, but it’ll probably end up hurting so bad in the end. With that said, the lyrics aren’t the reason this song is so high up on this list, which brings the guest singer Foxes.
I actually first heard of her due to her featuring on the Fall Out Boy song Just One Yesterday (I went through a Fall Out Boy/Paramore/Panic At The Disco phase in 8th grade), and while I was aware of this song because it was played on the radio, I never made the connection between that song and this one. Needless to say, I’m surprised that this was her only hit in the U.S., because her vocal performance on this song might just be the best vocal performance on any hit song in the 2010s.
Yes, including Praying.
Yes, including the Adele songs
While Foxes may not have the vocal range and personal baggage of Kesha nor the class and sophistication of Adele, her voice on this song makes up through it by sheer bombast and emotional weight. She’s putting all 110% of her vocal chords, lungs and diaphragm into her singing here, and when combined with Zedd’s equally gigantic production, it sends the biggest chill down my spine every single time, even after listening to it a good dozen times while writing this segment. A lot of EDM tended to minimize or outright erase the personality of any singer, but not only is Foxes’ personality preserved, it’s amplified here, and it works to absolute, glorious perfection. So, if I have all this glowing praise for this song, how is it not #1? How is a song that gets the strongest possible 10/10 not taking the gold medal on this list? Well, sometimes you have to go beyond a 10/10, which brings me to my #1, and boy, have I been waiting to talk about this one.
For as great as Clarity, Treasure and all the other songs on this list are, there was a song that, no matter how much strong competition it had, was never going to be anywhere but at the top of this list. I liked the song when it came out, and over the years, it has become one of my favorite songs of all time. Not only is it my favorite hit song of this year, it’s quite possibly my favorite hit of the entire decade. Strap in, folks, because this is going to be a long one, as I’ve been waiting to talk about this song for a good long while. I don’t feel like waiting any longer, so without further ado, The Best Hit Song of 2013…
#1: Don’t You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia ft. John Martin (Peak: #6, Year-End: #26)
At last, we have arrived, my favorite hit of 2013. As I said, pretty much no song stood a shot of beating this, and I’m giving this song a full deep dive, so buckle up for the ride.
For a bit of background, Swedish House Mafia was a supergroup formed in 2008 by Swedish House DJ’s Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso (they had a fourth member, Eric Prydz, early on, but he left). With the electronic music boom starting around that time (and the fact that electronic music is always big in Europe), it didn’t take long for the group to gain massive success in Europe, scoring huge hits like One (Your Name) with Pharrell (man, this EDM song sure does exist, doesn’t it), Save The World (on the way to greatness but not quite there yet) and Greyhound (the ridiculous music video is the most notable thing about this otherwise standard House track). However, after only four years, the group announced that they would be disbanding after their 2012 tour, and decided to give the fans one last treat, and boy did they save the best for last…
The song begins out with a instrumental lick that is either an electric guitar or synth (probably a synth made to sound like an electric guitar if I were to guess), over the course of the first verse, the production gradually adds in more and more layers of keyboard that give the song a gigantic, atmospheric sound, I.E. exactly what I want in an EDM song. The song hits a sweet spot of not being too overpowering to where it only works in the context of ecstasy-fueled raves and not being watered down for radio play like a lot of EDM from the latter half of the 2010s. Over this, guest vocalist John Martin (who also sang on Save The World) sings about the memories of his (well, the narrator’s) childhood, how he felt like a king on a golden throne while probably living what amounts to a pretty mundane, middle class life. However, those days are nothing but a memory now, brought back into mind by the songs he remembers hearing during those simpler times. Eventually, on a hill overlooking a lake, he experiences his first moment of heartbreak, whatever the cause of it was, his childhood innocence forever lost. Maybe he got dumped, maybe he got bullied, maybe his bike was stolen, I don’t know. All that matters in this is what comes next, the words of advice and consolation from his dad, words that will forever be etched in stone in my memory:
"Don't you worry, don't you worry, child
See heaven's got a plan for you
Don't you worry, don't you worry now
Yeah!”
It’s such a simple message: don’t worry about a thing, because you’ve got greater things ahead of you. Your best days and best times aren’t gone, they’re still to come, right there waiting for you, and all you’ve got to do is keep faith and take life as it comes. I don’t know, maybe I’m looking too deeply into this, maybe this whole segment is pretentious, all I know is that this simple set of lyrics hits is completely believable as something a parent would say to console their child, and it speaks to me personally, considering how my period of childhood innocence was coming to a close.
And then comes the drop.
I’m not going to go as far as to call this song the best hit song of the decade (that might be a list of its own in the future, maybe that’ll be my big project in 2022), but I will say that the drop in Don’t You Worry Child is the best singular moment of popular music in the 2010s. It. Is. F**king. Perfection. It’s powerful without being overbearing, it gets the higher pitched notes in without being grating, it’s both euphoric and nostalgic in the most perfectly bittersweet way possible. It’s pretty much impossible to make a more perfect drop IMO. This is electronic music at its absolute pinnacle, and I could not picture a more perfect way to represent the best of the popular music of the 2010s than this glorious 30 seconds of audio.
However, we’re not quite done yet, as we’ve still got half the song left to cover. The second verse is very similar to the first, but instead of being about his memories of childhood, it’s about his memories of a long lost love.
“There was a time
I met a girl of a different kind
We ruled the world
I thought I'd never lose her out of sight
We were so young
I think of her now and then
I still hear the songs
Reminding me of a friend”
You know, I have a knack for liking songs about nostalgic reflection. Castle On The Hill by Ed Sheeran, for example, topped my Best of 2017 list. More Than A Feeling by Boston, for as much as classic rock stations have beaten it into the ground, is another great example of a song about nostalgia, this time about hearing an old song that reminds the narrator of an old flame, which is a bit ironic in retrospect, considering that More Than A Feeling has probably become that exact song for many people. Summer of 69 is a similar situation to More Than A Feeling. Heck, I even unironically like Photograph by Nickelback. Well, this is that exact same type of song here, except that it’s not just a song of bittersweet nostalgia, but also of hope that the best days may be yet to come.
Sure, getting screwed over by a corrupt special ed department at a school I was attending and otherwise loved and moving from my childhood home (even if it was only 15 minutes away) all while other members of my families were experiencing struggles and hardships of their own (some even worse than mine) may have sucked at the time, but I and the rest of my family made it through. While I don’t look back on my middle and high school years from 2014-2019 with the same rose colored glasses that I do for my peak childhood from 2007-2012, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t have some dang good times during those years, even if there were some bumps along the way. Even with me being somewhat aimless and unsure of what to do with my life now, I’m sure I’ve got some good times ahead of me (for example, I might take a road trip with my best friend and some of his friends next year).
Not only I like this song, Don’t You Worry Child, while I was in the rough transition from my childhood to my teenage years, but the song’s mix of nostalgia and hope in both the lyrics and production is exactly what I need now as I enter the real world for the rest of my life. I honestly may have burnt myself out on this song while writing this segment, but I’m still making this call: Don’t You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia ft. John Martin, The Best Hit Song of 2013.
(EDIT: I was going to mention that this song wasn't actually the end of Swedish House Mafia and that they just put out new material, but I forgot).
Alright, so here’s the deal. I am going to start researching 2015 later this month, my 2015 lists will probably come out in late September at the earliest, more likely October, considering how long this list took to make. After that, however, I’m going to put music reviewing on the backburner for at least the foreseeable future. I’m getting pretty burnt out after nearly two years of doing this, and I’m gonna take some time to recuperate. I might do lists for 2021, and I’m strongly considering doing Best and Worst lists for the 2010s next year, but I need a break. With that said, I wish you all a great day, and I’ll see you guys next time.