The Top 10 Hit Songs of 2023
Sending off a very strange and often underwhelming year for pop music
I might have picked the worst year to start making a top 10 hits songs list.
That’s partly for the quality of music — 2023 certainly wasn’t one of the better years in recent memory — but largely due to Billboard, the music industry’s trade publication and charts provider in some form since the 1940s.
They often tinker with their chart formula for the Hot 100, the standard for U.S. pop music data since it launched in August 1958, to account for major shifts in the industry like the rise of streaming in the early 2010s.
But in 2023, they inexplicably tinkered with the calendar, cutting the chart year 3-4 weeks short with nothing more than an oh-by-the-way mention in this press release announcing nominations for the Billboard Music Awards. I don’t know why they did that, and I don’t feel like exploring the rumored reasons.
All that is to say Billboard has made my job a bit more difficult, as its Year-End Hot 100 is even less representative of 2023 than normal. Part of me feels like I’m giving them unearned legitimacy as an institution by putting a best hit songs list together, but I’m overthinking it.
So, here’s my rules for the list.
Songs from the 2023 Year-End Hot 100 that haven’t charted in past years or songs that entered the top 10 at any point in 2023 are eligible. This excludes holiday songs and accounts for hits that snuck up near the end of the year but didn’t have time to make the list proper. I also made an effort to not repeat any artists.
Without further ado:
10. Dial Drunk — Noah Kahan, Post Malone
As a general rule, I dislike remixes. They distort how the artist wanted the music to originally sound, and they’ve too often become a crutch for popular artists to game their way into a smash hit.
Given all that, it’s a bit of a surprise that I’m starting this list off with a remix.
But Noah Kahan is something of an easy sell for me as an indie folk singer-songwriter. Now, I don’t love his music the way a number of my friends do, but “Dial Drunk” works as a throwback to the early-2010s stomp-clap folk-pop that would make Mumford & Sons or The Lumineers blush.
Kahan sings of an alcoholic downward spiral that has left him in the back of a cop car begging an ex to bail him out, which ultimately never happens. Post Malone’s verse blends shockingly well, both in vocal style and lyrical substance.
If more remixes are like this, then rules be damned.
9. Kill Bill — SZA
Anyone who knows me is aware that I don’t really watch movies, even those considered classics. For instance, I’ve never seen a Quentin Tarantino film, nor do I really want to given that gratuitous violence is not my thing.
Fortunately, my lack of movie knowledge didn’t prevent me from enjoying SZA’s biggest hit to date, which indeed takes inspiration from the titular 2003 cult favorite.
An eerie synth underscores lyrics of a violent revenge fantasy with a hefty dose of references to the movie. It’s a more pop-leaning cut of her distinctive brand of alternative R&B, and the juxtaposition of her bloodthirsty lyrics with the softer, groovy beat creates the conflict at the song’s core.
Never has it been so chill to sing about killing someone.
8. Cuff It — Beyonce
This one just makes me want to dance.
I don’t even feel like doing an analysis of the track’s lyrics or themes, not that it really needs one. Beyoncé made an old-school disco/house cut with strong funk influences that just instantly puts me in a good mood whether I’m playing it on repeat or for the first time in months.
She brought in Nile Rodgers on guitar and Sheila E. on percussion, too, giving the track a more authentic throwback feel. Putting one or both of those legends on a song automatically raises its quality.
Just lose yourself in their groove. It won’t take long to involuntarily dance.
7. Going, Going, Gone — Luke Combs
Country music’s sudden dominance of the pop charts in 2023 was perhaps the year’s biggest development. I have no clue if it’s going to last, and while a good chunk of it was mediocre or bad, this surge also allowed a handful of good tunes to make their way to the top.
A number of those were by Luke Combs, whose most successful song of the year was a cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” While it’s a decent rendition, I’m choosing one of his original cuts for this list.
“Going, Going, Gone” is a midtempo, mature reflection on the end of a relationship. It’s not bitter, but rather accepting that what’s done is done, and there’s no hard feelings either way.
The tune is fairly basic, but it’s organic and well-played, not detracting from the well-written story. If only more country like this continues to cross over, I’d be happy.
6. Cruel Summer — Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift frequently makes questionable lead single choices, to put it mildly, but there’s probably no pick that confused critics and fans more than releasing “Me!” over “Cruel Summer” to introduce 2019’s Lover.
It took 4 years, but both Swift and the general public finally seem to agree.
“Cruel Summer” has gone from acclaimed deep cut to the only No. 1 hit off that album, surging in popularity thanks to The Eras Tour. It’s a colorful ode to a summer romance that’s equal parts wistful and propulsive. The synth-pop track is endlessly catchy, thanks in part to a co-write from St. Vincent, and features one of Swift’s best bridges.
More singles like this, please.
5. Dance the Night — Dua Lipa
If there’s one thing Dua Lipa knows how to do, it’s write an excellent nu-disco tune.
“Dance the Night” runs in familiar sonic territory for the pop star, but the song is given a much thicker bass groove courtesy of co-producer Andrew Wyatt that’s one of the slickest of the year. Like with “Cuff It,” it’s difficult to not immediately get up and want to dance.
The lyrics have the tiniest bit of added depth, though, as Dua sings about dancing through sadness and not letting life’s sadness get in the way of your escape.
The song is from the Barbie movie, but the universal theme means it’s not required viewing to enjoy. I should know since I haven’t seen it.
If nothing else, you can do as the song says and “dance the night away.”
4. Escapism — Raye, 070 Shake
I can’t believe I’m about to thank TikTok for making a hit song, but I’m frankly floored this took off.
It’s a twisting alternative R&B cut infused with trip hop, a narrative-driven song that deals with Raye’s self-destructive behavior post-breakup. The track is dark and moody yet doesn’t condone her hedonism a la the best Weeknd songs (indeed, there is a harmony near the end that sounds straight out of Trilogy).
What’s more, the track runs about 4-and-a-half minutes and was self-released by Raye after leaving her major label. None of that screams pop crossover.
And yet, the TikTok gods got one right. For that, I thank them.
3. Bad Idea, Right? — Olivia Rodrigo
A brief preface: My top 3 picks are all extremely close, as I think they’re all pretty much perfect songs. But I have to rank them, so here we go with what I believe is my most-played song of the year.
Sour was a nice starting point for Olivia Rodrigo’s career in 2021, even if most of the deep cuts didn’t grab me like the singles. Her talent and potential was obvious, as were some of her rock influences, so I was curious to see where she would go from there.
“Vampire” left me unimpressed as a first teaser for Guts, but “Bad Idea, Right?” had me all the way back around. It’s a peppy bit of late 90s/early 2000s power pop that features a Weezer-esque guitar solo and might be Rodrigo’s most fun song.
She details the messiness of a post-breakup hook-up with a level of self-awareness I haven’t heard from her before. Rodrigo knows she’s not above her worst impulses, which makes for a more inviting story.
Plus, it’s one of the catchiest tunes I’ve heard in a while. No wonder I played it so much.
2. What Was I Made For? — Billie Eilish
This is the second of two songs on this list from the Barbie movie, and like “Dance the Night,” the track is more universal than the film’s confines.
But this one is all about the exquisite songwriting and performance by Billie Eilish, who can’t seem to do any wrong. It’s an understated piano ballad, one that slowly builds but never tips over the edge into outright melodrama.
That backs Eilish’s typically soft yet stirring vocals as she questions both her place in society and her self-worth. It’s not sappy or sad, but legitimate existential questions as she was basically forced to grow up overnight in the public eye.
It rings all the more true for someone as young as her and someone who’s clearly becoming increasingly dubious of mainstream attention. But for those of us not launched into stardom as a teenager, it allows for a moment to ponder and reflect on our life goals and contributions to the world at large.
In that, we can maybe find what we were made for.
1. I Remember Everything — Zach Bryan, Kacey Musgraves
For someone who knows my music taste, this should seem obvious.
Zach Bryan is the closest thing the mainstream will get to Jason Isbell, a longtime favorite who in 2023 put out one of the best albums in years, alt-country or otherwise. And Kacey Musgraves finally got a smash hit after a decade of excellent songs being screwed by Nashville label politics.
Here, the two team up for a ballad reflecting on a past relationship blown apart by the man’s alcoholism. Bryan’s character pines for the positive memories, which are quickly refuted by Musgraves’ stark depiction of how he threw it all away and never became the person he wanted.
Like the best breakup songs, it’s balanced from both perspectives, and Bryan and Musgraves clearly know their subject matter well enough to sell it. The track feels heartbreaking but real, accentuated by a ramshackle acoustic guitar that builds to an orchestral swell. Everything is note-perfect.
In a year with so much country dreck, it’s comforting to know two of the best in the genre were able to ride the wave and have their moment at the top.