Attention!!!
2016 belonged to EDM, Dancehall
and Reggae Fusion. Justin Bieber began the year at the top of the global
charts, but it’s Drake whose mammoth collaboration One Dance with WizKid and
Kyla that takes the crown this year as chart performance in most of Europe have
already been tallied for Bieber’s Love Yourself for 2015. The smash hit
collaboration which brought Dancehall into the mainstream also paved the way
for veteran Sean Paul to emerge from the depths of the forgotten 2000s to
reignite Reggae Fusion which he succeeded with collaborations with Sia on Cheap
Thrills and Clean Bandit on Rockabye.
It was an awesome year for
most genres. EDM evolved to a stage where Synthpop and Dancehall was
incorporated to form a much mellowed tone than that which the previous years
produced such as Progressive House. R&B did not entirely disappear from the
mainstream as Rihanna’s newest album Anti produced her global hit Work another
collaboration with Drake. Alternative Rock music also entered the mainstream
once again in the form of Twenty One Pilots whose album Blurry Face is quite
reminiscent of the bygone era of Linkin Park. Pop music took on a more tropical
feel to keep up with the increasing popularity of Dancehall and Reggae.
Social media and viral music
proved once again to play a massive part in contributing to the mainstream
charts. Young stars such as Alessia Cara and Troye Sivan amassed quite a
following throughout the year as their hits managed to fare better with social
media fame. Viral hits such as Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall’s Juju On That
Beat and Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane’s Black Beatles surged to the top of the
charts, the former with its unique dance moves and the latter fueled by the
extremely popular Mannequin Challenge which was the next best thing after
Donald Trump Memes in the last quarter of the year.
Soundtracks continued to be successful
similar to 2015 where Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop The Feeling! from Trolls
and almost the entire soundtrack of Suicide Squad particularly Twenty One
Pilots’ Heathens faring extremely well on the global charts. We bade adieu to
One Direction as the group went on a hiatus in early 2016 and Camila Cabello
left Fifth Harmony just two weeks ago which may lead to the end of the girl
group which only just received a proper mainstream following.
Justin Bieber has the highest
number of entries with 4 followed by The Chainsmokers, Drake and Rihanna with 3
each and Zara Larsson, Twenty One Pilots, Sean Paul, Shawn Mendes, Ariana Grande,
Adele and Selena Gomez all having two each on the list. So here are the best 50
songs of 2016 was compiled based on worldwide charts, sales and accolades
received:
- Drake ft. WizKid & Kyla – One dance
- Justin Bieber – Love yourself
- Sia ft. Sean Paul – Cheap thrills
- The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – Closer
- Justin Timberlake – Can’t stop the feeling!
- Rihanna ft. Drake – Work
- Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber & MØ – Cold water
- Twenty One Pilots – Stressed out
- Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – This is what you came for
- Mike Posner – I took a pill in Ibiza (SeeB Remix)
- Lukas Graham – 7 Years
- The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – Don’t let me down
- Alan Walker – Faded
- Zayn – Pillowtalk
- DJ Snake ft. Justin Bieber – Let me love you
- Shawn Mendes – Stitches
- Twenty One Pilots – Heathens
- DNCE – Cake by the ocean
- Zara Larsson – Lush life
- Adele – Hello
- Clean Bandit ft. Anne Marie & Sean Paul – Rockabye
- Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – Work from home
- Kungs vs. Cookin’ On 3 Burners – This girl
- Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles
- James Arthur – Say you won’t let go
- G-Eazy & Bebe Rexha – Me, myself & I
- Pink – Just like fire
- The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk – Starboy
- Ariana Grande ft. Nicki Minaj – Side to side
- Jonas Blue ft. Dakota – Fast car
- Justin Bieber – Sorry
- Desiigner – Panda
- Gnash ft. Olivia O’ Brien – I hate u, I love u
- Drake ft. Rihanna – Too good
- The Chainsmokers ft. ROZES – Roses
- Zara Larsson & MNEK – Never forget you
- Meghan Trainor – No
- Flo Rida – My house
- Little Mix – Shout out to my ex
- Shawn Mendes – Treat you better
- Bruno Mars – 24K Magic
- Coldplay – Hymn for the weekend
- Enrique Iglesias ft. Wisin – Duele el Corazón
- Adele – Send my love (to your new lover)
- Charlie Puth ft. Selena Gomez – We don’t talk anymore
- Hailee Steinfeld & Grey ft. Zedd – Starving
- Selena Gomez – Hands to myself
- Ariana Grande – Dangerous woman
- Alessia Cara – Here
- Maroon 5 ft. Kendrick Lamar – Don’t wanna know
Till the next beat...
At Ease!!!
