UK Top 20 Ranked (Winter 2020/21)

 

Greetings fellow machines, this is DalekTurret32 with my UK Top 20 ranking of the season!

The ongoing pandemic meant that the huge lot of Christmas songs came to the charts earlier than usual. This also shot All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey and Last Christmas by Wham to number one after years of climbing and dropping out.

December also saw Kid Cudi get his first Top 40 hit as a lead artist in 11 years, as well as chart comebacks from Jamie Cullum, Stevie Wonder and Asian Dub Foundation.

This week, we’ve got indie folk, sex ‘n’ maths, and blue cheese.

Here are the tiers ranked from worst to best, for those who are new to my ranking

BAD

Poor

Mediocre

(↑the three ratings above won't pop up a lot)

Mixed

Okay

Solid

Swell

Excellent

GOLDEN

Mixed tier

#20. you broke me first by Tate McRae

I’m getting bored of this song now! Can we move on?

Just missed the Okay tier BTW.

Okay tier

#19. Anyone by Justin Bieber

2020 wasn’t a spectacular year of music for Justin Bieber, aside from Habitual, Monster with Shawn Mendes, and two decent songs from his Changes album. This new song falls into the latter category.

It’s about a relationship that won’t last forever, with Bieber fearing the day his lover leaves him. He then says that she will be ‘the only one [he’ll] ever love’. But what if there is another one that he’ll end up loving?

There isn’t much to the instrumentation aside from that blocky line that plays from the beginning and the mellow synths that come in during the first verse. The chorus does have some guitars reminiscent of 80s soft rock. It’s only until the final chorus when the percussion starts to pick up.

This all adds to an alright song.

Solid tier

#18. Without You by The Kid LAROI

This is The Kid LAROI. A 17 year old protege of the late Juice WRLD who has been blowing up thanks to TikTok. From the songs I’ve heard from him, he’s pretty decent. The song that’s in the Top 20 right now isn’t as good as So Done or Always Do (the former is climbing up the charts right now), but I quite like it nonetheless

The song has just an acoustic guitar and vocals in it, but the guitar maintains a solid rhythmic pulse that could work better with an expansion of instrumentation. The lyrics see LAROI heartbroken following the end of a relationship and how he struggles with loneliness. I like how he expresses his feelings, though it can get overdramatic at points like with the line about ‘bleeding internally’ following the breakup.

Also, there is a post-chorus with the ‘woah-oh’s in it which could fit well with pop punk instrumentation added to it.

#17. Really Love by KSi, Craig David and Digital Farm Animals

The UK garage throwbacks keep on coming. I like the interpolation of the guitar line from the 2001 club classic Do You Really Like It by DJ Pied Piper And The Master Of Ceremonies, and Craig David comes back to deliver a solid chorus wondering if what he’s feeling really is love.

KSi provides some rap verses and he rides the beat quite well, even if he has cheesy lines involving Amazon Prime and ET, as well as a line that will be memorable for the wrong reasons: ‘Wrecking my balls, Miley’.

#16. Whoopty by CJ

Time for some US drill.

The vocal sample comes from an Indian film called Sanam Re. It sounds like one of these snippets I would find from a hip hop samples video on YouTube (It brings me that nostalgic feeling of spending my sixth form days watching these sample collection videos on the school computers). The sample chain involving the Sanam Re sample is interesting, where a drill single  by Memo600 from two years ago called Exposing Me used it as its main riff (kudos to Mode Reviews for bringing it up in his Top 20 Ranked from last month).

The sample fits the beat really well and CJ does a good job riding the beat too. Here, he raps about his blue cheese addiction and carrying water like FIJI. The line about this woman swallowing his ‘kids’ is a weird line though.

#15. 34+35 by Ariana Grande

Warning: Minor sexual references

As of today, I have listened to three Ariana Grande albums. Positions, while my least fave of the three, was pretty solid. I initially viewed “34+35” as one of the weaker tracks off the album, but relistening to it for this ranking, it grew on me (from the upper end of the Okay tier to the upper end of the Solid tier). It would have just made it to the Swell tier if it wasn’t for the last part where Ari explains what thirty four plus thirty five means. We know! We have dirty minds, we have filthy ways, we tryna ba… Okay, that’s enough!

Ariana delivers a sensual performance over the plucky pizzicato strings. Even if there are some cheesy lines that weigh down the song, like when the neighbors are yelling “Earthquake!” while the bed is shaking, the innuendos are mostly good with the dirty stuff hidden.

Swell tier

#14. Afterglow by Ed Sheeran

This sounds like a typical love ballad, but the vocoder harmonies are what elevate this song. They remind me a fair bit of the ones used in Low’s 2018 album Double Negative. Also, has there been any other Top 10 hit mentioning Iron & Wine in its lyrics? I think this is the only one.

#13. drivers license by Olivia Rodrigo

Our new number one, everybody! Olivia Rodrigo is known for starring in the High School Musical TV show that premiered in 2019. The only song recorded for the franchise that broke the Top 40 was Breaking Free back in 2006 (Correct me if I’m wrong). And of actors who have starred in the three films, Zac Efron managed to score a few hits in 2018 thanks to his work on The Greatest Showman.

This is her surprise smash Driver’s License. The repeated Bb key on the piano evokes a similar feel to a beeping car noise. It sets the melancholy mood as Rodrigo sings about her jealousy, insecurities and emotions following a breakup. The line where she’s unhappy about her former lover being okay after the breakup comes off as a bit selfish, but the rest of the lyrics detail her feelings well. 'You said forever, now I drive alone past your street' is a line that may hit many who have been through a breakup before.

#12. Get Out My Head by Shane Codd

Time for some piano driven house. It has the upbeat charm that Sigala has in his material, but the string of ‘you can’s can get annoying. I don’t have anything else to say, but I like it for what it is.

#11. Paradise by MEDUZA feat. Dermot Kennedy

There is not much to the instrumentation besides the moody bass synth and the drum pattern. But unlike the instrumentation in Anyone, the song still manages to keep me interested. 

Here, Dermot Kennedy sings about him and a lover being a thousand miles apart as they both search for paradise. The lyrical themes of love, hope and nostalgia were already explored by Kennedy on Without Fear, so this isn’t new to him.

The main difference between this and MEDUZA’s previous two hits is that Goodboys aren’t on there. So that means we may have to say goodbye to the Goodboys if they don’t pop up on MEDUZA’s next single.

#10. Loading by Central Cee

Looks like Whoopty isn’t the only drill song in this Top 20. This one sounds different where instead of the dark bass synth that is typical of drill, we have some brass instruments playing throughout.

Central Cee rides the beat well as he raps about his encounters with the plug and the police, the corruption running through the place where he and his friends grow up, and having to deal with a snitch. I liked his Home Alone reference, but the COVID line may end up dating the song.

#9. Train Wreck by James Arthur

TikTok has been offering many surprises (such as a Mother Mother song from 2008 starting to get attention). A James Arthur song from 2016 has been blowing up recently to my surprise.

Most of what gets big off TikTok is the upbeat stuff, but this one, however, is a piano ballad in which James Arthur sings about his battle with depression. The piano arrangements, while simplistic, help compliment the emotions that Arthur conveys throughout the song. The lyrics strike a chord the most in the 2nd verse where Arthur encourages the listener that it’s not too late to repair their sanctum. It’s one of my favourites from James Arthur along with You Deserve Better.

#8. Prisoner by Miley Cyrus feat. Dua Lipa

Miley Cyrus’ new album Plastic Hearts offered some impressive 80s pop rock throwbacks. While Prisoner isn’t one of my faves off the album, it’s still pretty great.

A synthpop song with a bass guitar in the chorus, as well as Miley Cyrus interpolating Physical by Olivia Newton John (which Dua Lipa also did in her song of the same name). The song sees Miley (and Dua) want to escape from a toxic relationship, but the curse of love forbids her from doing so. This may not sound good on paper, but there is the right amount of melodrama needed for this song, along with the use of the prison metaphor. The second verse is a bit short and the song could have used a bridge to elevate this further, but for what it is, I like it!

#7. Good Days by SZA

Glad to see SZA finally break out into the Top 20. It’s not as good as Love Galore or The Weekend, but it’s still one I like. For those who don’t know, she’s signed to Top Dawg Entertainment (the same label known for many well-known hip hop artists of the 2010s such as Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock and the most iconic of them all, Kendrick Lamar).

The song sees SZA have a positive outlook on life as she hopes for the ‘good days’ to come. She uses references to the Book of Jericho and the Book of Job. The latter is used to connect to how she faces the unfair nature of obstacles in her life, but still opts to move on from the pain and smiles as she prepares for her ‘armored fate’. The guitars give off a calm feel that compliments the lyrical content of the song, and Jacob Collier comes in to give some beautiful backing vocals.

#6. Sweet Melody by Little Mix

Little Mix’s last song as a quartet (unless you count No Time For Tears, which, alas, is at #22 in the week I’m ranking). 

The girls sing about a guy who hooked them in with his melodies before betraying them, thus breaking their hearts in the process. Standard breakup song stuff here, but the way they use musical terminology as metaphors is interesting, especially in the part where Perrie said that the man would lie and cheat ‘over syncopated beats’ and the beat itself becomes syncopated.

The ‘do-do do-do-do-do’ parts took a while for me to get used but they’re a good serve for the melodies that this guy sung to them.

Something about the vocal deliveries in the first few verses remind me of electro swing a fair bit. I don’t know why, but my mind shifts to that genre whenever I hear them.

Excellent tier

#5. therefore i am by Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish is still coming through with brilliance. The song feels like All The Good Girls Go To Hell but with a slightly faster BPM. The production is mostly minimal with a high range bass synth over a programmed backbeat preset, and some pizzicato strings in the chorus. Eilish has this whispering delivery while sometimes being accompanied by robots talking through an electric fan. One line in the chorus is worth noting: 'You think that you're the man / I think, therefore, I am'. Not only does she call out toxic masculinity, but she twists the line up to say that she’s more manly than this guy claims he is.

#4. willow by Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift put out two albums in 2020 that sounded vastly different from her previous works. Both of the albums impressed me. She also got Bon Iver their first appearance on the Top 10 and HAIM their first Top 20 hit in seven years, as well as bringing a rare occasion of indie folk to the hit parade. I prefer Evermore out of the two, even if it doesn’t reach the height of Exile (Spoiler Alert: That song is a contender for my Top 50 Songs Of 2020)

The acoustic guitars sound calm and wistful as Swift sings about a tale of reckless love. The lyrics manage to make the present seem nostalgic thanks to the picture painted by the music. As someone who has listened to just one album by The National (2017’s Sleep Well Beast), I like Aaron Dressner’s production here. He adds the right amount of atmosphere to this scenario.

#3. Head & Heart by Joel Corry feat. MNEK

It’s going to be a contender for my UK Hits of 2020 list. Gonna save any additional thoughts I have for that occasion.

GOLDEN tier

#2. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

Another contender for my UK Hits of 2020 list. Again, saving the rest of my thoughts for that list.

#1. Levitating by Dua Lipa

When I first listened to Future Nostalgia, this was already one of my favourites off the album. I was hoping this got released as a single, and it did. Except it was only the Blessed Madonna remix with the actual Madonna and Missy Elliott in it. Would still be in the GOLDEN tier if that version was credited. Then there was a remix with DaBaby on it to help boost this higher, and it worked.

The vocal keyboard settings help drive this song’s groove, as Dua Lipa sings about taking this guy to a galaxy far away. Also helps that the instrumentation paints an image of space as she does so. It gets even better when the synths come in during the chorus, they further add to the galaxy imagery of the lyrics. The bridge where Lipa raps is also pretty cool.

As for the remix that got this into the Top 10, DaBaby mainly brags, but also fits the perspective of the guy that’s going to the galaxy with Lipa. I would say we already have her rapping on the bridge, but his presence was welcome.

This missed out on the 2020 Year End, but let's hope it will make the year end list for 2021.

Mixed: 1

Okay: 1

Solid: 4

Swell: 9

Excellent: 3

GOLD: 2

There's more greats in this than the last two Top 20 rankings. And unlike the Autumn 2020 ranking, there's actually two GOLD songs to elevate the mean score.

Here are three songs in the lower sixty of the Top 100 that I would love to see break the Top 40.

Wanted to include Peng Black Girls by ENNY feat. Ania Brave, but, alas, that song dropped out this week.

FUTURE HIT #3. My Head & My Heart by Ava Max (#77, 3 wks)

Let’s keep the mindless pop fun going with an interpolation of ATC’s “Around The World (La La La)”. Ava Max sings about her moral dilemma following the end of a relationship. It’s the upbeat kind of synthpop with a good dose of melodrama that wouldn’t sound out of place in Eurovision.

FUTURE HIT #2. Apricots by Bicep (#90, 2 wks)

Would be great to see Bicep hit the Top 40. This song would be more fitting in the summer given its sound and the vocal snippets can get repetitive, but the synths sound wonderfully produced as they provide an ambient atmosphere.

FUTURE HIT #1. Heat Waves by Glass Animals (#43, 10 wks)

I’ve been a fan of this band since the How To Be A Human Being days. I own their first two albums on vinyl. Dreamland is the weakest of their three, but I still enjoyed it.

The mellow synths blend well with the 808s to create a vibrant beat. Dave Bayley sings about a former lover of his whom he wants to forget since the breakup hurt him. He wishes the girl for a better life as he feels sad. It does have the questionable line ‘'You look so broken when you cry

One more and then I'll say goodbye', but the song overall projects its feelings through both instrumentation and vocals. Also, that pitched down voice in the intro and the outro sounds pleasing to my ears.

Chart used: https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/20210115/7501/