Bob’s Top 10 Pop Songs of 2021

This is my 13th year of listing my top 10 pop singles of the year. First, this is a pop music list. I know there are a lot of very good songs that don’t get much radio airplay or exposure, but this is not that list.

Eligible songs must have hit the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2021. That might include songs released in 2020. However, if it made my list last year, it’s ineligible this year. That eliminates “Blinding Lights,” “Holy,” “I Hope,” and “Mood,” all of which spent time in the top 10 in 2020 and 2021. I also don’t giver consideration to Christmas songs that recur on the charts every year. If a new Christmas release were to hit the top 10 in the future, I’d consider it.

For the first time this year, I did a top 20, so if you want to see what was between #11 and #20, that’s here.

Anyway, here is the list. I’ll start with #10 and add a song daily:

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1. Levitating – Dua Lipa or Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby, Warner
When 2020 ended, I wondered if “Levitating” had enough energy to hit the top 10 after the Christmas season songs fell off the charts. It had barely reached the top 20 in November 2020. Well, “Levitating” hit the top 10 in January 2021 and became one of only two songs ever to spend 40+ weeks in the top 10! Oh, and a year later, it’s still on the charts at #18 this week and was ranked the #1 song of the year, despite peaking at #2. I’m a big fan of Dua Lipa and her Future Nostalgia album so this ranking is really no surprise. This was the only Dua Lipa song eligible for this countdown. If “Love Again” or “We’re Good” has hit the Billboard top 10, they would have made my top 10 as well. “Levitating” is a great modern disco song that would not have sounded out place at Studio 54 on the late 1970s. Her timing is exquisite, with a samba rhythm to her vocals. There is a version that features rapper DaBaby, that was the original charting single. After controversial remarks by DaBaby at a concert, the solo version has become the A side listed in Billboard since late August 2021. A Blessed Madonna remix featuring Missy Elliott and Madonna charted in 2022 prior to the DaBaby release, but was nowhere near as successful.

Official video featuring DaBaby: YouTube link
Official lyrics video: YouTube link
SNL performance: YouTube link
Hello 2021 performance: YouTube link
Blessed Madonna remix official video: YouTube link
1920s style cover by Postmodern Jukebox featuring Sweet Megg: YouTube link

2. Kiss Me More – Doja Cat featuring SZA, Kemosabe/RCA
For the second straight year, Doja Cat has the # 2 song on my year end list. “Kiss Me More” was released in April as the lead single from her Planet Her album. It’s a duet with singer SZA that reached the top 10 in May and spent 27 weeks there. It peaked at #3 for a week in July and was ranked by Billboard as the sixth biggest single of 2021. The chorus of the Olivia Newton-John hit “Physical” is influential and those songwriters were eventually given co-writer credits. I think it’s subtle. The recent Miley Cyrus/Dua Lipa collaboration, “Prisoner,” was far more blatantly ripping off “Physical.” In any case, “Kiss Me More” was the far bigger hit and it’s up for major Grammys, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Official video: YouTube link
Doja Cat, SZA live at the Billboard Music Awards: YouTube link
Lyric video, clean version: YouTube link
SZA solo performance: YouTube link
Doja Cat solo performance: YouTube link
Noah Raquel cover: YouTube link
Rainych Japanese cover: YouTube link

3. Shivers – Ed Sheeran, Atlantic
My #3 song is currently the #5 song in the country. “Shivers” is the second single from Ed Sheeran’s = album. In the U.K., “Shivers” debuted at #1, replacing Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” after its 11-week run at the top.  Seems like Sheeran had another pretty good year. “Shivers” has not (yet) hit #1 in the United States. I really like this one. It’s not deep—it’s a catchy, fun, danceable love song but Sheeran does it well. I especially like the playful, “shiver….-er….-er” lyric. “Shivers” had a September 2021 release in the United States, promoted by his performance of the song at the MTV Video Music Awards. For those who miss the slower and more contemplative Ed Sheeran songs, “Visiting Hours” from the = album surprisingly underperformed, peaking at #75.

Official video: YouTube link
Live at the MTV VMAs: YouTube link
From NBC’s The Voice finale: YouTube link
Saturday Night Live performance: YouTube link
Behind the Scenes video: YouTube link
Rock cover by No Response: YouTube link
Allie Sherlock cover: YouTube link

4. Save Your Tears – The Weeknd or The Weeknd & Ariana Grande, XO/Republic
I don’t mind the remixed duet version with Ariana Grande, however, I really got to like the solo version prior to the release of the duet. I’ve also heard the solo version far more often. “Save Your Tears” is the fourth single from the enormously successful After Hours album. It was released in November 2020 (August in Europe) but took a while to become a hit, as radio was still focused on the record-breaking second single, “Blinding Lights.” When “Save Your Tears” finally cracked the top 10 in February 2021, “Blinding Lights” was still at #3.  The remixed duet was released in April 2021 which fueled a two-week run at #1 in May. Like many tracks on After Hours, “Save Your Tears” has a very synth-pop 1980s sound. Although the single was eligible for consideration at the upcoming Grammys, The Weeknd and his label decided not to submit it for consideration in light of the absurd snub of “Blinding Lights” a year ago. “Save Your Tears,” a number one hit in 18 countries, gave The Weeknd a curious chart oddity that only Janet Jackson had accomplished previously.  “Heartless” hit #1 in 2019, “Blinding Lights” in 2020 and “Save Your Tears” in 2021, giving him three #1 singles from the same album in three separate years.

Official video, solo: YouTube link
Official video, with Ariana Grande: YouTube link
The Weeknd from 2021 BRIT Awards: YouTube link
The Weekend & Ariana Grande performance: YouTube link
Boyce Avenue acoustic cover: YouTube link
Vonaltum cover: YouTube link

5. Leave The Door Open – Silk Sonic, Aftermath/Atlantic
Silk Sonic is the Bruno Mars/Anderson .Paak project that focuses on throwback R&B. While I’ve seen a lot of Motown comparisons, to me the sound is more like the Philly Soul of the 1970s. “Leave The Door Open” was the lead single from their album, An Evening With Silk Sonic. Released in early March, the chart success got a boost from a Grammy telecast performance on March 14, 2021. It eventually went to #1 for a week in mid-April and then for another week in mid-May. It spent 18 consecutive weeks in the top 10. Billboard ranked “Leave The Door Open” as the seventh biggest hit of 2021 and the song is nominated for four Grammys: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song. The song’s title may or may not be a reference to “Close The Door,” by Philly Soul legend Teddy Pendergrass.

Official video: YouTube link
Grammy performance, March 2021: YouTube link
Live from the BET Awards: YouTube link
4^th Impact cover: YouTube link
Proud Yongvadhananun cover: YouTube link
Jonathan Mouton audition on NBC’s The Voice: YouTube link

6. Bang! – AJR, AJR/BMG/S-Curve
Metronome. “Bang!” was the first top 40 hit by brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan Met, but the song was hardly an overnight success. It was recorded in 2019 and released in February 2020. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #99 on July 4, 2020, climbed to #86 and then fell off the chart. It re-entered in August and hung around the lower end of the top 40 for the last three months of 2020. Finally, “Bang!” reached the top 10 in mid-January 2021 and stayed there for four weeks. Apple used an instrumental from “Bang!” in iTunes ads late in 2020, which likely fueled the song’s chart rise. It really sounds quite different from most of what is on radio of late. The horn heavy production has vocals reminiscent of a carnival song. There are some notable spoken lines, including “here we go” and “metronome.” Those lines were originally intended to be spoken by a group member, but instead they used Charlie Pellett, who is known for being the voice of pre-recorded messages on the New York City subway.  Outside of the United States, “Bang!” was a minor hit at best, reaching the top 10 only in Israel.

Official video: YouTube link
Making of “Bang!”: YouTube link
From ABC’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve: YouTube link
Today At-Home Concert performance: YouTube link
Jared Halley cover: YouTube link
Will Smith remix of “Bang!”: YouTube link

7. Easy On Me – Adele, Columbia
The current #1 song in the country, “Easy On Me” spent seven weeks at #1 in 2021 before hitting number one again last week. In many ways it’s a fairly typical Adele ballad, but she does them well. The lead single from her 30 album was released in October, too late for consideration at the upcoming Grammys. It is up for Song of the Year at the Brit Awards. It’s reportedly a message to her nine-year-old son explaining her divorce from his father. “Easy On Me” was Adele’s first release in close to five years so it set quite a few streaming records. It broke the Spotify record for single-day streams and streams in its first week. Similarly, on Amazon Music, it set the first day stream record and the first-day Alexa request record. A remixed version with Chris Stapleton was released to country radio in November and can be found on the special edition of 30, available at Target or in Japan. The video is somewhat of a sequel of her previous “Hello” video.

Official video: YouTube link
Live at the 2021 NRJ Awards: YouTube link
2021 NMA Awards: YouTube link
Adele & Chris Stapleton version: YouTube link
Lloyiso cover: YouTube link
Boyce Avenue cover: YouTube link

8. Deja Vu – Olivia Rodrigo, Geffen/Interscope
“Deja Vu” is my favorite track from Sour. Olivia Rodrigo tapped into the teenage heartbreak drama big time with a debut album that set streaming records in its first week. What I like about “Deja Vu” is the production. The instrumental distortion adds a touch of mystery. The singer is the jilted ex of someone who replaced her with someone similar, so much so that they seem to do the same things the original couple did. But that distortion and vocal angst make me wonder if it’s the singer who’s a bit on the crazy side. “Deja Vu” was the second single and followed one of the biggest debut hits of all time, “Driver’s License.” Rodrigo became the first ever singer to have her first two singles debut in the Top 10. “Deja Vu” entered the Hot 100 at #8 in April, and the song rebounded to #3 the week that Sour was released in June. The bridge was inspired by a Taylor Swift track, “Cruel Summer,” apparently so much so that Swift and others eventually were given songwriter credits.

Official Video: YouTube link
Performance video: YouTube link
MTV Push performance: YouTube link
Live from Tiny Desk: YouTube link
Acoustic cover by grentperez: YouTube link
Reneé Dominique cover: YouTube link

9. Bad Habits – Ed Sheeran, Atlantic
Ed Sheeran started 2021 with a non-album single on the charts. I really liked “Afterglow,” but it peaked at #29 last January. Sheeran followed it with the lead single from the = album, released in June. “Bad Habits” debuted in the top 10 at the #5 position in early June. It spent 20 weeks in the top 10 in 2021 including two weeks at #1. It’s back in the top 10 (#7 this week) after the Christmas seasonal songs fell off the charts. It reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary, Adult Top 40 and Dance Mix Airplay charts. Globally, it topped the charts in 28 countries, and spent 11 straight weeks at #1 in the U.K. and Ireland. “Bad Habits” has been compared by some critics to be similar to recent work by The Weeknd. Sheeran has stated that he thought the first release from the album needed to be upbeat and fun. The video is inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Sheeran’s vocals are much better than his vampire acting skills.

Official video: YouTube link
Live Performance: YouTube link
Performance video: YouTube link
Behind the scenes video: YouTube Link
Performance at the MTV Video Music Awards: YouTube link
Acoustic cover by Boyce Avenue: YouTube Link
Madilyn cover: YouTube link

10. Take My Breath – The Weeknd, XO/Republic
“Take My Breath” was the first single from The Weeknd’s Dawn FM album and it peaked at #6 immediately upon its August release. That would be its only week in the top 10, as two other songs from The Weeknd’s previous album really dominated airplay for the past two years. The previous album was noted for a synth-pop 1980s sound. “Take My Breath” seems to blend elements of the ‘70s and ‘80s.  As for the video, it was meant to accompany the IMAX showings of the film, The Suicide Squad, but due to the strobe lighting, the idea was nixed due to concerns about triggering seizures. “Take My Breath” was not submitted for Grammy consideration after last year’s infamous snub of “Blinding Lights.”

Official video: YouTube link (epilepsy warning)
Extended version (audio): YouTube link
Making of the “Take My Breath” video: YouTube link
Rain Paris cover version: YouTube link
Remix featuring Agents of Time: YouTube link (epilepsy warning)