Adrian C's Top 50 of 2019

We have finally reached the end of the year, which means it is time for the official year-end list. This list will consist of the 50 biggest songs of 2019 based on my chart. I am using Crownnote's point system for this until I try a better method. However, the tracking period is from January 13, 2019 (the first chart posted this year) to December 15, 2019. I cut it off before the end of December because otherwise, too many newer songs rank too high ("Arabesque" by Coldplay would be in the Top 30 despite only debuting in November) and it just wouldn't feel right. So I cut it off a couple weeks early and the points earned within the last two weeks of December will be added to the songs' points in next year's leaderboard.

To see the songs in this year-end list revealed one at a time with commentary and detailed chart performance information, check out http://pulsemusic.proboards.com/thread/190529/adrian-top-50-2019-completed.

I will now use this space to run down the Top 10.

10. Kelsea Ballerini – "Miss Me More": I do not think this is the 10th best song of the year by any means. I don't love it now as much as I did towards the beginning of the year, which is when its run took place. At first I thought it was strange that it placed this high, but I know now that it's because it spent a long time in the Top 10. It's still a great song though. I enjoy everything that made this list.

9. Kacey Musgraves – "Oh, What A World": I would say Kacey Musgraves is the 2019 Artist of the Year for me. She has had an insane amount of success throughout the year and she has the most appearances in the year-end list with 4. This is the highest of her songs and I still think it's an absolutely gorgeous song from the instrumentation to her vocals and the dream-like vibe it has. It never hit #1 (being blocked by Kygo and Whitney Houston's "Higher Love"), but spent 7 weeks at #2, the longest run at #2 of the year. It even surpassed "Rainbow" (#13), which was a #1 hit, because of its longevity.

8. Hozier – "Almost (Sweet Music)": Hozier had a good year in 2019 with two appearances in the year-end list: this song and "Nina Cried Power" (#35). This song spent a strong 35 weeks on the chart. It debuted in February and didn't actually hit its peak of #2 until July. It is also the highest song in the list that did not hit #1. I still really enjoy the song, so I think a Top 10 placement is fitting for it. It's everything I love about Hozier.

7. Avicii featuring Chris Martin – "Heaven": It was 2019 that we were graced with a posthumous Avicii album that I enjoyed for the most part. It spawned two hits here, with the other being "SOS" (#12). But "Heaven" just has more of an emotional feel to it and if you watch the song's music video and listen to the lyrics, you can't not feel anything. Chris Martin was also the perfect vocalist for it. It managed to debut up at #18 and soon spent 4 weeks at #1. It is also currently still charting going into 2020.

6. Carly Rae Jepsen – "Want You In My Room": Another artist who has more than one appearance on this list as she also has "Now That I Found You" (#17). However, unlike that song which peaked at #2, this one actually managed to hit #1 even when it was in the Top 10 during the "Higher Love" and "Heaven" reign at the top. It still managed to sneak a week in there. It's everything I love about Carly Rae Jepsen, so no surprise by its huge amount of success and high placement here.

5. MARINA – "Handmade Heaven": I'm not even sure what got me into this song as Marina and the Diamonds never totally appealed to me. But I just listened to it one day and really enjoyed it, so I believe it debuted quickly skipping Bubbling Under and just made its way up the chart until it spent 4 weeks at #1. It had a great run, so I'm not too surprised to see it rank this high.

4. Backstreet Boys – "No Place": After "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" was a big favorite of mine in 2018, these boys brought it again in 2019 with "No Place". It's very different from the lead single, but it works and their harmonies just sound really nice. It spent 4 nonconsecutive weeks at #1 and was on the chart for a strong 37 weeks, making it one of the longest-charting songs of the year. Towards the beginning of the year, this song actually spent some time at #1 on the leaderboard and never left the Top 5 from that point on.

3. Kygo and Whitney Houston – "Higher Love": I fell in love with this the moment I heard it for the first time because it's one of my favorite artists in EDM and who I believe is the best vocalist of all-time. This cover of the Steve Winwood song just worked so well in my opinion. The production and the vocals mesh well and it's a perfectly-made song that I would say I enjoy more than the original, which is great as well. This song debuted at #3, the highest debut of the year, and tied for the shortest climb to #1 at only two weeks. It then spent 10 weeks at #1 (9 of which were consecutive), making it the longest-running #1 song of 2019. Kygo did bring other songs this year like "Happy Now" (#31) and "Think About You" (#44), but it was this one that really did it for him. It is also still charting currently.

2. Lady Antebellum – "What If I Never Get Over You": Another song I fell in love with immediately as I am a huge fan of Lady Antebellum. This became their first charting single in years. It hit #1 five weeks into its run for 3 weeks in late June to early July. It then stayed in the Top 10 until it hit #1 again in November, leaving an 18-week gap in between weeks at #1. It then spent another week at the top in December, totaling 5 weeks at #1. These three definitely had a great year in 2019 with this song and the follow-up, "Ocean" (#27). Both songs are still charting currently, with "Ocean" still up at #2!

1. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – "Shallow": This probably comes as no surprise to anyone who has been following this chart all year for the simple reason that it is has been charting the entire year. Within the tracking period (1/13/19 – 12/15/19), it spent all 49 weeks on the chart, the first 32 of which were in the Top 10. It only spent 3 weeks at #1, but its longevity is insane and that's why it is crowned as the #1 song of 2019, which it deserves because I think it is a phenomenal song. The instrumentation is great and the vocal chemistry is strong. That climax is simply immaculate. I mean there's just no flaws and as a result, I've enjoyed it the entire year, which is why it has been on the chart for the entire year and still is going into 2020. How much longer will it last? You'll have to wait to find out!

That's it for my commentary here! Again, to see more commentary for each of the 50 tracks as well as details about each of their performances AND me revealing them one at a time from #50 to #1, please visit this link! You should be able to see it with or without an account on the site. But that's all I have to say here! Here's to hoping 2020 will be another great year for this chart!