#10 Taylor Swift - Fortnight
From the first sweet-yet-foreboding notes of the TTPD opener, Swift dips her toes into the goth-girl realm and delivers such darkness and longing that it’s impossible to not feel her ache — heightened by Posty’s tender backing croon (“I love you, it’s ruining my life”) — or to take the song off repeat. Aided by the tragic black-and-white visual featuring a nod to the Dead Poets Society via cameos from Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles as her captors alongside one Austin Post — who is also her love! Oh, the delicious heartbreak — the song reached the peak of the Hot 100 for two weeks. (Should’ve been longer.) — A.C.
#9 Tommy Richman - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Behold the beauty of modern TikTok discovery: a few delicious snippets of funked-up R&B music can make a complete unknown become the voice of one of the biggest hits of the year. “Million Dollar Baby,” Tommy Richman’s breakout smash, didn’t zoom into the top 10 of the Hot 100 and spend several weeks in that frame because of any cogent messaging or artist intrigue, but because it was a great hang: the plump bass line, clinking synths, tons of hi-hat and most importantly, Richman’s buttery falsetto, singing about repping Woodbridge, Virginia and some vaguely characterized relationship drama. It didn’t matter — anyone could warble along with “Million Dollar Baby,” that old-school bounce and his upper-register harmonies beguiling enough to jump off the For You page and onto top 40 radio. Ultimately, “Million Dollar Baby” transcended its viral-smash status, its impact anything but ephemeral. — J. Lipshutz
#8 Addison Rae - Diet Pepsi
When you have 88.7 million followers on TikTok, it’s hard to imagine anything you drop not immediately catching fire. But viral dance queen Addison Rae did not break into the Hot 100 until this year’s “Diet Pepsi,” which bubbled up to No. 54 on the chart. “My boy’s a winner, he loves the game/ My lips reflect off his cross-gold chain,” Rae purrs, reaching into her ripped blue jeans and pulling out 1990s Americana images like a Gen Z Lana del Rey. The echoing synth lays the foundation for Rae’s ethereal voice, which floats above a whomping, mid-tempo rhythm and pulls no punches as she whispers, “Untouched, XO/ Young lust, let’s — (ah),” on the pre-chorus. “When we drive in your car, I’m your baby (so sweet)/ Losing all my innocence in the backseat,” she sings breathlessly. That is, until the immaculately placed key change takes the whole thing subterranean, and Rae switches from coquettish passenger to authoritative driver, like she’s handing you her empty can so she can focus on the road. — C.W.
#7 Beyoncé - BODYGUARD
One of a staggering seven different songs nominated in various categories for the Grammys, “Bodyguard” is maybe musically the simplest — though also the most engaging, with lyrics about the protective nature of love and what people are willing to do for it. But it’s the Beyoncé flair that makes the song come alive, her vocals at times purring (“Leave my lipstick on the cigarette”), at times delivered with a sly wink (Sometimes I take the day off just to turn you on”), but always with her entire soul in it. Produced by Raphael Saadiq, there are elements of his slinky-cool soul, building to a tightly distorted guitar solo during which Bey’s vocals really begin to soar, which elevates the song beyond what it could have been in anyone else’s hands. — D.R.
#6 Charli xcx - Girl, so confusing featuring lorde
If 2024 was the year niche pop stars finally had their long-gestating (and long-deserved) major mainstream breakthroughs, then it was only right that two of our definitive slightly left-of-mainstream pop icons got on a track together. Informed by the lore of the two stars being mistaken for one another early in their careers, Charli and Lorde’s “Girl, so confusing” remix dials up the confessional nature of the original Brat cut by allowing the New Zealand Grammy-winner to share her side of the story. “I was so lost in my head/ And scared to be in your pictures/ ‘Cause for the last couple years/ I’ve been at war with my body/ I tried to starve myself thinner/And then I gained all the weight back,” she reveals, effortlessly bending her usual vocal approach to fit the robo-sing-rap cadence Charli employs on the A. G. Cook-produced track.
In another universe, this could have been a victory lap celebrating both artists’ winding journeys to the top of the pop ecosystem. But – in a move that only underscores Charli’s impulsive genius — “Girl, so confusing” was a song born out of real life that’s committed to remaining grounded in that messy and complicated reality. Equal parts reactionary and revelatory, “Girl, so confusing” is a towering peek inside the psyches of two of pop’s most important women. — K.D.
#5 Shaboozey - A Bar Song
Billboard’s first charts, published more than a century ago, ranked sheet music sales—and made no mention of musical styles. The concept of distinct genres arose later to help market physical recordings and radio stations. Now, the streaming era has made genres all but irrelevant, as evidenced by Shaboozey’s marvelous milestone hit, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which has received more than 1.69 billion on-demand global streams and spent 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, tying the record set by Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ in 2019. With its universal lyric of struggles and release, its acoustic guitar intro, its hand-clapping rhythms and its nod to J-Kwon’s ’00s hip-pop smash “Tipsy,” Shaboozey’s country-pop-rap gem has been a genre-busting, culture-crossing phenomenon. — T.D.
#4 Billie Eilish - BIRDS OF A FEATHER
Throughout her career, Eilish has at times faced criticism for her whisper-toned vocals, with some haters suggesting that she doesn’t have the range to switch up her sound. She swiftly proved them wrong with “Birds of a Feather,” which features a wildly catchy post-chorus where Eilish emotionally belts the skyscraping proclamation, “I’ll love you ’til the day that I die!” The gorgeously lush pop-rock radio banger, which hit No. 2 on the Hot 100, was easily one of the go-to love songs of the year — with countless fans using it over on social media to soundtrack their happiest moments of 2024. — R.A.
#3 Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso
“That’s that me espresso” is the kind of huh? chorus lyric that either prevents a song from having any chance of becoming a major pop hit, or ensures it’s going to be one of the biggest and most unforgettable pop hits in recent memory. In the case of Sabrina Carpenter’s superstar breakthrough, it was of course the latter, with the line serving as the foam on top of what was already one of the most unmistakable, invigorating and naturally addictive singles of 2024. With that perfectly titrated chorus, a sleek post-disco groove and more winking throughout than George Costanza with grapefruit juice in his eye, “Espresso” proved undeniable and ubiquitous — and the fact that it already feels years in the rearview for Carpenter by now is how you know she’s gonna be a big star for a long time. — A.U.
#2 Chappell Roan - Good Luck, Babe!
Chappell Roan is not like most artists, to say the least, and that’s abundantly clear on “Good Luck, Babe!” While most vocalists scale up to a high note at the end of a lyric, the Missouri singer-songwriter begins each line of this chorus in her upper register before sliding down to deliver irony-drenched well wishes to a former lover in denial about their queerness. The verses are every bit as strong as the glistening chorus, all playful, pillowy synths and easygoing ‘80s beats as Roan coaxes and pouts, subtly flexing her vocal range and irrepressible personality. But on the spine-tingling bridge, Roan achieves a level of sublime pop perfection most singers spend years grasping at, spitting out savage disses (the institution of marriage may never recover from “you’re nothing more than his wife”) and howling “I told you sooooooo” before the song pivots to an unexpected, gorgeous bit of Paisley Park psychedelia on the outro. No wonder it wasn’t just her first Hot 100 entry – it’s also her first top 10 hit, and surely not the last. – J. Lynch
#1 Kendrick Lamar - Not Like Us
As the epic Kendrick Lamar v. Drake beef escalated this spring, fans of both hip-hop heavyweights debated who would emerge as the victor. But the nail in The Boy’s coffin was “Not Like Us”: Arriving less than 24 hours after Dot’s eerie “Meet the Grahams” missive, he dropped a diss track for the ages, equal parts scathing and entertaining. His relentless character assassination of Drake undeniably struck a chord (“and it’s probably A minorrrrr”), from the “certified pedophile” allegation (which Drake denied, and is at the heart of his most recent legal filing) to the “OV-Hoe” call-and-response. But Mustard’s infectious beat, characterized by its booming bassline, titillating snares and finger snaps, cemented it as a West Coast anthem — one that’s since taken over clubs, cookouts, sporting events, bar mitzvahs and of course Lamar’s “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends” Juneteenth concert, where he performed it five consecutive times.
His victory lap was far from over: “Not Like Us” notched Lamar his fourth Hot 100 No. 1, broke the record for most weeks at No. 1 on Hot Rap Songs with 25 weeks, and garnered five nominations ahead of the 2025 Grammys – including record and song of the year. And come February, Lamar could take “Not Like Us” all the way to Super Bowl — the thing Drake claimed he was as big as on 2023’s J. Cole-assisted “First Person Shooter,” where Cole’s “Big Three” claims set all of this in motion — for the ultimate checkmate. — H.M.
