The music industry (live musicians and crew workers excepted) survived 2020 relatively unscathed. After some initial confusion in March, artists continued releasing songs and albums as per normal. In fact, many became more prolific during the pandemic than they were before it. The result was a particularly strong year for pop. Despite the doom and gloom of 2020, escapism was a major theme. Disco staged a major revival thanks to artists like Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus, while Taylor Swift brought Americana to the masses.
Remixes suddenly became big business in 2020 with the industry churning them out to take advantage of a chart loophole (all versions of a track count towards the Billboard Hot 100), the popularity of Latin music continued to grow and genre lines blurred more than ever before. Oh, and K-Pop conquered the world thanks to BTS and BLACKPINK. Those trends are reflected in my top 100 pop songs of 2020. Check them out below and listen to the full list at the bottom of the post. Please take the rankings with a grain of salt. The difference between 1 and 100 is negligible.
100. “Airtime” — Katie Melua
99. “Things We Do For Love” — Trevor Daniel
98. “Turbulence” — Ella Vos
97. “I Still Do” — Kiiara
96. “hideous” — mehro
95. “Goodlife” — Agnes
94. “Feels Like Me” — Gin Wigmore
93. “Therefore I Am” — Billie Eilish
92. “Gaslighter” — The Chicks
91. “Rockstar” — Mallrat
90. “In Your Eyes” — The Weeknd
89. “Loyal Brave True” — Christina Aguilera
88. “Do It” — Chloe x Halle
87. “The Difference” — Flume & Toro y Moi
86. “Love Looks Better” — Alicia Keys
85. “Scream Drive Faster” — LAUREL
84. “Caramelo” — Ozuna
83. “Life Of The Party” — Ingrid Andress
82. Say Something — Kylie Minogue
81. “Like It Is” — Kygo, Tyga & Zara Larsson
80. “Choke” — Royal & The Serpent
79. “Lasting Lover” — Sigala & James Arthur
78. “Malibu” — Kim Petras
77. “They Ain’t Ready” — Becky G
76. “New Angel” — Niall Horan
75. “Untergang” — JORIS
74. “Love Me Land” — Zara Larsson
73. “good guys” — Lany
72. “Genetics” — Meghan Trainor & Pussycat Dolls
71. “crowd” — Silver Sphere
70. “Spotlight” — Jessie Ware
69. “Head & Heart” — MNEK & Joel Corry
68. “Time Machine” — Elliphant
67. “Lento” — Lauren Jauregui & Rauw Alejandro
66. “Lie Like This” — Julia Michaels
65. “Easier” — CamelPhat & LOWES
64. “Distance” — Yebba
63. “And It Breaks My Heart” — LÉON
62. “Young & Sad” — Noah Cyrus
61. “eight” — IU & SUGA
60. “Let Me Reintroduce Myself” — Gwen Stefani
59. “24 Hours” — Georgia
58. “Crazy” — Kelly Rowland
57. “React” — Pussycat Dolls
56. “Last Great American Dynasty” — Taylor Swift
55. “Bitter” — FLETCHER & Kito
54. “Let’s Love” — David Guetta & Sia
53. “Somebody” — Dagny
52. “Chew On My Heart” — James Bay
51. “The Let Go” — Elle King
50. “kate’s not here” — girl in red
49. “GIRL LIKE ME” — Black Eyed Peas & Shakira
48. “Boyfriend” — Selena Gomez
47. “Mehr Davon” — LOTTE
46. “i finally understand” — Charli XCX
45. “Drinks” — CYN
44. “XS” — Rina Sawayama
43. “supercuts” — Jeremy Zucker
42. “Magic” — Kylie Minogue
41. “Caution” — The Killers
40. “Cry About It Later” — Katy Perry
39. “UN DIA (ONE DAY)” — J Balvin, Tainy & Dua Lipa
38. “Fear Of Being Alone” — Lennon Stella
37. “911” — Lady Gaga
36. “No Song Without You” — HONNE
35. “Spiritual Violence” — Annabel Jones
34. “Lie” — Sasha Sloan
33. “Damage Is Done” — Y2K & JoJo
32. “BLACK PARADE” — Beyoncé
31. “Save A Kiss” — Jessie Ware
30. “Me Gusta” — Shakira & Anuel AA
29. “I Know Alone” — Haim
28. “Dynamite” — BTS
27. “Let Me Love You Like A Woman” — Lana Del Rey
26. “Let Me Down” — Oliver Tree
25. “How It All Works Out” — Faouzia
24. “Easy” — Troye Sivan, Kacey Musgraves & Mark Ronson
23. “WAP” — Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion
22. “Another One” — Sam Smith
21. “Lovesick Girls” — BLACKPINK
20. “Hawái” — Maluma
19. “Till There’s Nothing Left” — Cam
18. “Forever” — FLETCHER
17. “Bikini Porn” — Tove Lo
16. “For Sure” — Future Islands
15. “Swimming In The Stars” — Britney Spears
14. “Nobody Gets Me (Like You)” — Wallows
13. “Overkill” — Holly Humberstone
12. “The Chain” — Hayley Mary
11. “Starting Over” — Chris Stapleton
10. “Midnight Sky” — Miley Cyrus
9. “mirrorball” — Taylor Swift
8. “Love Is Religion (The Blessed Madonna Remix)” — Dua Lipa & The Blessed Madonna
7. “On The Line” — San Cisco
6. “Vulnerable” — Selena Gomez
5. “Pink Pony Club” — Chappell Roan
4. “Dancefloor Darling” — Kylie Minogue
3. “Berlin” — Fenne Lily
2. “willow” (dancing witch remix) — Taylor Swift
1. “Savage Remix” — Megan Thee Stallion & Beyoncé