Top 10 UK Hit Songs of 2019

So 2019! Really interesting year for music, lots of breakout artists in the charts, songs blowing up from TikTok, and even a rising wave of UK hip hop in the UK charts from Dave to J Hus and JAY1 to Headie One.

Rules:

• Song must have debuted on the UK End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 compiled by The Official Charts Company (or OCC for short)
• For a song to be eligible for a Top 10 Hit Singles of {Year} list. It has to have a maximum of five years between its year of release and the year it debuted on a year end list. So for example, if I’m doing a Top 10 UK Hit Singles of 2018 countdown, hits that came out before 2013 do not count.
• I also have a ‘one entry per lead artist’ rule in order for the list to have more variety. Bands and members’ solo material can be separate exceptions to this. 

You can choose a song from these five below and play 5-20 seconds of the chosen pick in between each song, it can be another for a Top 40 entry that didn't make it to the year end list or you could choose another 2019 song that comes to your mind to spice things up.

Selected Transition Song picks

• Shawn Mendes - If I Can't Have You (0:50-1:05)
• Da Beatfreakz feat. Dappy, Deno and Swarmz - Motorola (0:20-0:37)
• Liam Gallagher - Shockwave (0:53-1:14)
• Gesaffelstein feat. The Weeknd - Lost In The Fire (0:48-1:06)
• CamelPhat x Cristoph feat. Jen Cooke - Breathe (1:03-1:21)

Or you could choose another 2019 song that comes to your mind to spice things up.

So anyway, let’s get on to the countdown

Number 10

Wiley feat Sean Paul, Stefflon Don and Idris Elba - Boasty (Remix)

The original version from 2018 was good enough, but I much prefer this remix of Boasty, as there is more fun to it. Wiley only does the chorus in this version but it’s a pretty catchy chorus nonetheless. He even brags about his money being so long that it doesn’t know him, which, on paper, sounds ridiculous but he adds a lot of charisma to make it work.

All four of our artists deliver some enjoyable verses over a syncopated rim shot, with the most unusual addition being Idris Elba, who even gives an amusing shoutout to Harry and Meghan’s wedding from 2018 in which he was the DJ in the reception of that event.

Number 9

This year marked the first time a Mercury Prize winning album spawned a Top 10 hit upon its year of release since Klaxons’ Myths Of The Near Future from 2007. One Day Like This from Elbow’s The Seldom Seen Kid peaked at #4 four years after the album’s release following its usage in the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics. 

It’s not every day a song from a Mercury winning album makes it onto a year end list. 

Dave’s Psychodrama album is filled with a lot of personal and heartfelt material. I elaborated upon this further when I talked about the album on my Top 50 Albums Of 2019. To contrast with the themes surrounding the album, we get a nice, upbeat tune to vibe to in the form of Location. Like with Boasty, the artists on the song are a treat to listen to, whether it’s the relaxed tone of Burna Boy’s chorus or the witty wordplay of Dave.

We also get an instrumentation switch in the 2nd half of the song (from a piano line to a pattern of synths). ‘Twas unexpected, but nice to hear. After that change, we hear Burna Boy talk about his struggles in the past and how he has now reached a high point in his life and is grateful of where he is. It’s an insightful verse from him, and the vibrant synth compliment his tone well.

Number 8

The wait for the first posthumous number one since Eva Cassidy’s posthumous cover of Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World with Katie Melua singing over the instrumental in late 2007 was over when Eminem’s Godzilla, which featured a chorus from Juice WRLD (who passed away a month before the song’s release) reached the top.

This next song managed to reach number two. But if it reached number one, then it would have given the featured artist on this song the only posthumous UK number one of the 2010’s.

Kygo feat. Whitney Houston - Higher Love

So, I didn’t hear Whitney’s unremixed cover of the Steve Winwood classic until just recently, when I was working on this list. The production on the 1990 version has a mix of new jack swing and early 90’s R&B. I quite like it, but in terms of production, I prefer Kygo’s remix.

He takes his typical tropical style and adds elements of 1980s synthpop to it, and it suits Whitney’s voice fantastically. There is also an uplifting post chorus that wasn’t in the 1990 version. In that post-chorus, she sings melismatic ‘oh’s, which is then followed by her singing “Bring me higher love!”.

The one thing that pushes this up even further is the choir vocals in the final chorus to evoke those of both the 1990 version and the 1986 original by Steve Winwood. It feels very climatic.

If this and Mac Miller’s Circles album proves anything, it’s that posthumous releases can turn out to be very good.

Before we move on, I would like to point out that the music video has a similar fitness room setting to that of Eric Prydz’ Call On Me. The song that Call On Me samples is Valerie by Steve Winwood. Isn’t that a coincidence?

Number 7

Ava Max - Sweet But Psycho

If you’re looking for a fun slice of pop music in the singles charts of 2019 (or 2018, because that was when this song came out), then look to Sweet But Psycho. 

Ava Max’s chart debut sees her describe a ‘psycho’ in first-person in a similar fashion to what Nelly Furtado did on Maneater. The main difference is that Furtado had the verses describe the ‘maneater’ in third-person and the chorus in first-person. We even get a hint of Lady Gaga influence in the song as the chorus has a ‘ma-ma-ma’ in it like in Poker Face.

Number 6

When we think throwback songs, we are most likely to think of those calling back to the 1970’s and 1980’s. It’s a rare occasion in which we get a post-80’s throwback, but this year, we got a throwback to a subgenre of electronic music that was popular in the late 90’s and early 2000’s called UK garage. 

*plays Allnighter by 24 Hr Experience (starts at 1:03) in the background*

For those who don’t know, a typical UK garage track contains a percussive 4/4 breakbeat rhythm with syncopated cymbal sounds. Examples of tracks of this subgenre include Dreams by Smokin’ Beats, Flowers by Sweet Female Attitude and Love Bug by Ramsey & Fen. I may talk more about garage when I do a Top 10 UK Hits Of 2000 list, because that was probably when UK garage was at its peak in popularity.

Anyway, here’s a relatively new rapper from Ladbroke Grove with a song cal… I gave away the title too early

AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove

AJ Tracey takes on an early 2000’s UK garage rap style that reminds me of Oxide & Neutrino in terms of rhythm. He is a great fit for this role as his flows are wonderful. He is no stranger to this kind of music, as a track he did with Dave back in 2016 called Thiago Silva was a call back to grime in its early days of development (2003 approx.). Plus, the grime music around that time, such as Dizzee Rascal’s I Luv U and Wiley’s Eskimo, beared hints of UK garage in its influences.

There is also a sample of Jorja Smith’s Wandering Romance that sounds beautiful, even though the themes of heartbreak don’t exactly fit with the flexing of the rest of the track.

Number 5

This next pick needs no introduction! Here's Ed Sheeran!

Ed Sheeran feat. Khalid - Beautiful People

It was either this or Take Me Back To London (especially considering that I grew to liking the Sir Spyro remix a little more than the original of the latter). But in the end, I chose the former.

This follows similar themes to the album’s lead single I Don’t Care; two people that don’t fit into a party come to accept themselves, as well as show appreciation for their loved ones. I prefer this one as the production sounds more beautiful than the ‘people’ it’s referring to. This is further elevated with the backing vocals repeating “we are” throughout the song to emphasise the two main characters accepting their best traits.

The lyrics also look into the uglier side of luxurious lifestyles, a great topic that I don’t see occur in a lot of Top 40 hits of today. These include issues concerning marriage and drugs to contrast with the seemingly perfect aspects of the party attendees.

Number 4

Until I saw the results of the year end list, I was certain this was going to be my number one. 

Turns out it’s just number four.

Post Malone - Circles

Post Malone bragged about feeling like a rockstar in 2017. Fast forward two years later, and he’s genuinely feeling like one in this song. This is all thanks to the dreamy guitars and upbeat bassline, with the latter doing so to contrast with the melancholic lyrics. The rhythmic and production elements altogether make this sound like a Tame Impala esque psychedelic rock song, with the reverb effects being used in all the right places.

In this song, Malone is ending a relationship that has lost its flavour, while elaborating the issues that he and his partner both had to deal with. He does so with his most vulnerable vocal performance to date while displaying a great sense of heartbreak.

Number 3

There is no denying that Billie Eilish became one of the biggest breakout artists of 2019. Her album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? was the best selling album of the year in the USA overall, and was even the 2nd biggest selling debut album of that year in the UK (with it only being beaten by Lewis Capaldi’s Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent). She is continuing to see success in the charts as her recent Bond theme No Time To Die has reached Number One at the time of this post being written.

Anyway, onto the 3rd single of that album, titled bury a friend.

Most of the instrumentation on this is relatively quiet, with the exception of the syncopated swinging beat. This gives an ominous feel to add to the creepy aspects of the song. The key is mainly found on the vocals, as well as the chords in the verses and the bass synth in the bridge.

The use of the Prismizer effect on Eilish’s vocals makes her sound spine-chilling to replicate the haunting imagery of the lyrics, which represent a monster under her bed (mainly in the verses).

If the first instrumental break wasn’t tense enough, the 2nd break has a synth loop with a suddenly loud volume level to it to boost that intensity up to 10. 

When the party’s over was also a good contender for this list, but this is even better. Easily my favourite off of her debut.

Number 2

Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

It was uncertain whether Mark Ronson would score a hit with a lead artist credit to his name after the mega smash hit of the middle of the decade that was Uptown Funk, but he managed to do so (at least in the UK). And while this isn’t my favourite off of his Late Night Feelings project (We’ll get to that in my Top 50 Songs Of 2019 list), it still is heartbreakingly amazing.

Miley Cyrus calls back to her country roots with an Americana style accent in her vocals and it sounds beautiful. To add to the Americana influence, we have an acoustic guitar playing throughout to give a folk feel that is usually present in this sort of music.

The chorus on this is also fantastic; telling us that the world may be cruel to us at times, but it truly becomes ugly when we experience heartbreak. The string ensemble (which also opens up the song) adds to this feeling, thus elevating the song.

It’s a shame that none of the follow-up singles became huge hits (though it was a treat to see the title track and Find U Again appear in the Top 40), but at least we have the success of this song.

And before we get to the number one spot, here are some honorable mentions:

HM1. Young T & Bugsey - Strike A Pose

This became a huge grower on me overtime. Young T & Bugsey give off an upbeat, mindless vibe like they did on Ay Caramba, but this is even better. And between this and his track Buss Down, it shows that Aitch is at his most enjoyable when it feels like he’s vibing to the beat. Though his verse on DigDat’s Ei8ht Mile proves that he can work on dark beats too.

HM2. Tones & I - Dance Monkey

A song about how society treats performers ending up being a huge number one hit was an unexpected thing to see happen this year. To contrast with this topic, the song also gives a nice upbeat, poppy sound, as well as a cool bassline in the chorus.

And speaking of the unexpected...

HM3. - Lil Nas X - Old Town Road (mainly the Billy Ray Cyrus remix)

One of the hits that defined 2019. This fusion of country and hip hop being taken off the Billboard Country Charts only served to bring more people to stream and buy it.

The remix with Billy Ray Cyrus makes this song better and more complete, with Cyrus delivering a lot of charisma. A hip hop artist bragging about country stuff and a country artist doing vice versa makes for an amusing case of ‘opposites attract’. 

HM4. Sam Smith and Normani -  Dancing With A Stranger

A nice transition from the usual ballads to a more accessible pop sound. The shimmering synths provide a moody, but pleasant wintery feel along with the chiming bells. The song gives a good sense of perspective from both the characters of Smith and Normani. The two are moving on from an old relationship, but they still have feelings for each other. It’s a Somebody That I Used To Know situation in some way.

HM5. Regard - Ride It

An example of a dance remix being better than the original (at least to me). A nice deep house vibe with some pitched down vocals that sound quite soothing, along with a synth breakdown that slaps

HM6. Lizzo - Good As Hell

This works really well as a female empowerment anthem. Lizzo delivers a ton of charisma and charm on this, with my favourite line of hers being “If he don’t love you anymore, just walk your fine ass out the door”. That’s a great way of encouraging people to move on from their exes rather than wasting time throwing continuous hate at them.

HM7. Calvin Harris feat. Rag ‘N’ Bone Man - Giant

Rag N Bone Man’s gravelly vocal style returns in this song. He sings about becoming strong overtime and there’s a touch of gospel in the occasional organ chords. The instrumental break with the brass instruments feels natural and sounds different from Calvin’s usual style. It’s not one of my favourites, but still really good.

HM8. MEDUZA feat. Goodboys - Piece Of Your Heart

This is one of many songs where I don’t have a lot of words as to why I like this. The dark Disciples esque groove is solid and the low pitched vocals shine through the song like with Ride It, but that’s about it.

HM9. Dominic Fike - 3 Nights

An acoustic song that got big, thanks to Fike’s connection with BROCKHAMPTON, who, funnily enough, are recently seeing potential chart success with their song SUGAR.

It starts off as a typical hookup song before switching to a really good portrayal of anxiety in this situation.

HM10. Jax Jones and Martin Solveig Present EUROPA feat. Madison Beer - All Day And Night

Two sublime producers team up to make a sublime disco house song. I like how the tone contrasts with the post break-up themes in the song, and Madison Beer provides a swell vocal performance. We even get some synths in the chorus reminiscent of those from Faithless’ 1995 dance track Insomnia.

And that's all the HM's. Let's get to...

NUMBER ONE

When I looked at the chart run of this and saw how many weeks it spent on the chart, I was worried that it wouldn’t make it to the year end list. Fortunately, it did do so, albeit at the bottom part of that list.

Stormzy - Crown

This might serve as a prequel to Blinded By Your Grace, because while both parts of BBYG have him thanking the Lord for his guidance, this one has him struggling to find hope. This feeling is further emphasised by the call and response between him and the LT Singers in the last two choruses, which do a great job building upon texture.

Stormzy gives a fantastic breakdown into the events throughout his career, as well as showing sympathy towards lower class cultures. I love how human and natural he, along with the instrumentation, feels throughout this song. 

He also paraphrases a quote from Henry IV Part Two (“Heavy is the head that wears the crown”) as a metaphor for the amount of pressure he has been feeling following his first UK number one hit.

Easily one of my favourites from Stormzy, and brilliantly deep for a song that has reached its peak in the Top 10.

And that’s it.

I might plan on a Top 50 Songs Of 2019 next.


The year end list: https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/end-of-year-singles-chart/20190101/37501/