And the song’s R&B roots are exposed in the bridge, where SZA sincerely wails “I did it all for us, I did it all for love” - later admitting she committed the crimes of passion, and shrugging at her own subsequent eternal damnation. On her instantly viral hit, SZA debates doing the same – taking it a step further by also going after his new girlfriend – under the premise of “If I can’t have you, no one should.” The eerie synth loops, paired with the groovy, boom bap-inspired percussion drive home the singer’s lunatic antics - but moments of self-awareness, like when she sings “I’m so mature” or “not the best idea,” ensure listeners that she’s laughing at her own psychosis and hasn’t gone off the deep end just yet. “Kill Bill” paints a gruesome picture from its title alone, paying homage to Quentin Tarantino’s pair of films about a wronged lover exacting the ultimate revenge on her ex. On her sophomore album SOS, SZA set out on a fearless sonic voyage, dipping her toes in different genres from grunge to gospel – but one single particularly slayed. And it’s another example of how lucky we are to have Eilish & bro as fixtures in our current pop culture. It’s not merely understanding the assignment, it’s being asked to put together an extra credit book report and inventing an entirely new field of literary criticism. When Eilish sighs “I’m sad again, don’t tell my boyfriend” or wails “ I don’t know how to feel,” the sentiments are equally plausible and heartbreaking as narration for Barbie or disquieting self-examination for Billie herself. Instead, they took it as inspiration to dig deep for a piano ballad as legitimately affecting as anything in their catalog - no small feat for the duo behind “When the Party’s Over,” “Everything I Wanted” and so many other spine-tinglers - which somehow also makes total sense for the soundtrack to the blockbuster film comedy. Billie Eilish and brother-collaborator Finneas could’ve taken the Barbie task as an excuse for a rare dip into pop frivolity, or some kind of winking self-satire. The great ones never miss an opportunity. 53” is a fearless exploration of love and loss that redefines contemporary pop with its unapologetic honesty. Soaring on multiple Billboard charts - including Latin Pop Airplay, where it spent 12 weeks at No. With lines like “Las mujeres ya no lloran, las mujeres facturan” (“Women no longer cry, women cash in”), it emerges as a powerful female post-breakup manifesto, challenging the prevalent double standards often imposed on Latin women in entertainment. The electro-pop anthem is a raw, unfiltered expression of Shakira’s highly publicized breakup, boldly naming names and defying industry norms. Collaborating with Argentine DJ Bizarrap during a vulnerable period, the Colombian superstar’s dis track (targeting her unfaithful ex Gerard Piqué) became the most-played Latin song on Spotify in 24 hours, while breaking several Guinness World Records. 53” isn’t just a song it’s a seismic cultural moment. Here are our 100 favorite songs from a year that once again proved that pop music can come from any place, any time and anybody. (No “Cruel Summer,” though, we covered that back in 2019.) Our list of the best songs of 2023 (songs that either came out in 2023 or peaked on the Hot 100 in 2023) takes stock of all of these, as well as songs by favorites who still haven’t grown to chartbreaking status, but who we hope will provide the “where did they come from?” stories of the next few years. And newly minted hitmakers - some of whom we’ve had our eyes on for a long time now, others of whom we’d never heard of before 2023 - kept making things interesting. Still-rising stars confirmed their longevity. Returning stars gave us some of their biggest (and sometimes best) hits yet. It was a wild year in pop, but a fruitful one. And of course, there was always Taylor Swift, who was never more than a new remix, a new rarity, a revived old song or a re-recorded classic album away from storming the chart anew. Latin pop and K-pop hitmakers new and old had major impact. Regional Mexican made its presence felt, as did songs from all over the musical spectrum steeped in Jersey club and New York drill. 1 until September - there was more open real estate on the chart than there’d been in a long time for genres like pop-rock, country and R&B. With hip-hop no longer dominating the Hot 100 like it had in the late ’10s and earliest ’20s - we didn’t even get a rap No. It was pretty much chaos in the chart-pop world of 2023. Songs from four years ago, seven years ago, 65 years ago.
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