Dua Lipa’s “Houdini” returns to Number 1 + 2023 Year-End Analysis

While the Christmas songs leave the chart or move back down, other songs resurge and reach brand new peaks. Dua Lipa returns to Number 1 with “Houdini” for a sixth non-consecutive week. Olivia Rodrigo enters the Top 10 with her song “Can’t Catch Me Now” for the new Hunger Games film, peaking at #6. Japanese singer-songwriter Mitsi reaches a new peak at #8 with her viral “My Love Mine All Mine”, a heartwarming ballad that has taken over the internet by storm. Amidst the re-entries is one new debut – Belgian pop stars Bazart and Pommelien Thijs debut at #23 with their collaboration “Hou Me Vast”.

In November 2022, Dutch pop stars Maan and Goldband collaborated on “Stiekem”. Their collaboration was inevitable as Maan and Goldband boy Karel Gerlach are in relationship, which they announced at Lowlands Festival earlier that same year. It debuted at Number 1 with spectacular opening numbers and continued to top the charts until the end of 2022, to little surprise. What may come as a surprise, however, is that “Stiekem” has now managed to become the biggest single of 2023 on my personal chart, despite not topped my chart this calendar year. It becomes the first song in my personal chart history to achieve this incredible feat. This year, “Stiekem” was certified diamond and became the best-scoring Dutch song of all time. It also ranks as the biggest song of the 2020s so far, having overtaken Goldband their own “Noodgeval”. It also helped Maan become the most-certified Dutch artist of all time, overtaking the rare record from Ronnie Flex.

Without a doubt, the song of the summer was Peggy Gou’s breakout “(It Goes Like) Nanana”. It topped the charts between June and July and continued to chart inside the Top 10 well throughout the summer. The dance-pop song is a full on vintage rave record with a summer synth that has shades of Eurodance. It is very reminiscent of summer hits of the late 1990s and early 2000s, specifically “9 PM (Till I Come)” by ATB and “Amazing” by Inna. Before its official release, the song already went viral, which is not surprising, as Peggy Gou already has a devoted internet fanbase. The South Korean DJ has also received universal acclaim for her impressive sets, playing at famous events such as Boiler Room or in Berlin’s Berghain. It is certified double-platinum and the biggest dance hit of the year with no question. It also performed well throughout Europe, topping the charts in Belgium and the Netherlands. It finishes as the second biggest hit of 2023 and the biggest Number 1-hit of the year.

The biggest event of the year has had to be the release of Barbie. The Greta Gerwig-directed film starring Margot Robbie as the iconic children’s toy has been permanently edged into popular culture. Its musical soundtrack has left little to desire as well, featuring Lizzo, Sam Smith and Tame Impala. Six singles off the soundtrack became big hits on this chart, the biggest being Dua Lipa’s groovy “Dance the Night”. It became Lipa’s eleventh Number 1-hit after spending fourteen weeks in the Top 10. It ranks as the third biggest hit of 2023, having been certified double-platinum. Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” also became a Number 1-smash, earning Billie her biggest hit since her debut era. Its iconic “Barbie World” by Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice finishes as one of the biggest hip hop songs of the year. It peaked at #2 and became Minaj’s best-performing song in over six years. Packed with these already iconic hits, the Barbie soundtrack has gone down in history as the most-successful soundtrack of all time on my personal chart.

Seemingly out of the blue, two of the 2000s biggest pop divas made a spectacular comeback this year. Shakira peaked at Number 1 with her eponymous collaboration with Bizarrap. The song was a very clear and upfront response directed towards Shakira’s ex-husband Gerard Piqué. It made Shakira the second artist in chart history to earn a Number 1-hit in three consecutive decades. This record was soon equalled by Kylie Minogue when she topped the charts with “Padam, Padam” only three months later. Both icons then scored an additional Top 10-hit with “TQG” and “Tension”, respectively. Minogue then topped off an already incredible year with her sixteenth album Tension.

With the rise of streaming services such as Spotify, music has never been so easily accessible. One genre that has clearly benefited from this, is Afrobeats. The popular music from West Africa has taken over my personal Top 40 by storm, starting with Rema’s “Calm Down”. The single was originally released last year and began steadily climbing the worldwide charts over the summer. It was then boosted by a remix featuring pop icon Selena Gomez, which helped it hit my Top 10. Cameroonian-American singer Libianca then broke the Top 3 with her breakout song “People”, which ranks as one of the best-scoring songs of the year. Nigeria’s pop star Ayra Starr then scored two Top 3-hits: her own irresistible “Rush” and “My Love” with Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne. South-African singer Tyla surpassed them all as “Water” became the highest-peaking Afrobeats song of the year, peaking at #2 supported by a TikTok challenge.

Newly certified

“Lovin On Me” – Jack Harlow GOLD

“Houdini” – Dua Lipa PLATINUM

“Giving Me” – Jazzy PLATINUM

Top 10 songs of 2023

1. “Stiekem” – Maan & Goldband
2. “It Goes Like (Nanana)” – Peggy Gou
3. “Dance the Night” – Dua Lipa
4. “Miracle” – Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding
5. “Flowers” – Miley Cyrus
6. “Rommel” – Goldband
7. “Padam, Padam” – Kylie Minogue
8. “Greedy” – Tate McRae
9. “What Was I Made For?” – Billie Eilish
10. “Escapism.” – Raye & 070 Shake

Biggest debuts of 2023

1. “Houdini” – Dua Lipa [#1]
2. “Rommel” – Goldband [#1]
3. “Vampire” – Olivia Rodrigo [#1]
4. “Flowers” – Miley Cyrus [#1]
5. “Don’t Say Love” – Leigh-Anne [#1]
6. “Padam, Padam” – Kylie Minogue [#3]
7. “Greedy” – Tate McRae [#3]
8. “My Love” – Leigh-Anne & Ayra Starr [#3]
9. “Monster” – Zoë Tauran [#4]
10. “Satisfyer” – Roxy Dekker [#4]