Hello, fam! So, we’ve finally reached the end of 2019. And with that comes the Year-End posts! During the month of December, I’ll be working on a series of Year-End posts that’ll cover several different topics. Because this year marks the end of the decade, I plan on doing the Decade-End posts as well. Those will be coming up later this month. But first, it is now time to do Year-End post #1!

The first post talks about my least favorite songs of 2019. Like every year, we have had plenty of good music. You’ll see some of my favorite songs as I countdown my Best Of The Year list. But there have also been plenty of putrid and downright terrible songs that I legitimately disliked for different reasons which I’ll talk about below. The list is primarily based on songs that made the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown and/or the American Top 40, both of which I review on a weekly basis. I’ll also talk about the ones that exclusively charted on the Billboard Hot 100, though that’ll be in another Year-End post. I will thoroughly describe as to why I legitimately disliked those songs.

Today, I’m going to talk about the songs that charted on Hits 1 and the American Top 40. I’ll begin with my dishonorable mentions. Those were songs that are bad, but weren’t able to make the final cut for my Bottom 10. This year, I’ll be going through my dishonorable mentions and I’ll explain why I dislike them. So with that in mind, I will now present to you my dishonorable mentions:

• 5 Seconds Of Summer – Easier

Let’s kick things off with a band that has been around for much of the decade. These guys have made some songs that I enjoyed. But Easier is unfortunately not one of those songs. There’s no band here. Their vocal performance is mediocre and the rest of the song isn’t very interesting. But of course, it went to #1 because Hits 1 loves these guys. Yeah, I’m not a fan of this.

• AJR – 100 Bad Days
  

Speaking of acts in which Hits 1 seems to love, we have AJR here. They have not impressed me with what they’ve had to offer over the years. If you’ve read my blog back in 2018, then you probably know that Sober Up was my #1 least favorite song of that year. They also had Burn The House Down, which I’m not fond of either. Here, they give us 100 Bad Days. It’s really not that different compared to what they had before. The production isn’t too bad, but I don’t like their vocals and their songwriting is just horrible. I really don’t have anything else I can say beyond that. AJR are just not a good music group and this song gives me a reason to slowly step away.

• Alessia Cara – Trust My Lonely

Since Alessia made a breakthrough with Here back in 2015, she has made music that I loved, such as Scars To Your Beautiful, Growing Pains, and her contribution in Stay with Zedd. But Trust My Lonely is not one of those songs unfortunately. It’s really the weird production that kills the song for me. Alessia sounds okay, but she couldn’t really save the song from simply being mediocre at best. There are some questionable lyrics that I won’t get into right now. Overall, this is one of my least favorite singles from her so far. She can do better.

• Ally Brooke featuring Tyga – Low Key

Honestly, I expected more out of Ally Brooke when she made her solo debut. But overall, she did not meet my expectations with the song. Here, she sounds underwhelming in the chorus, and Tyga himself doesn’t make a good contribution either. I’m not feeling the lyrics and I don’t like the message that it sends. The production is okay, but for the most part it’s nothing special. I personally think she is a talented singer and she has shown me what she is capable of in songs like Higher and No Good. But here, she doesn’t show any of that. Yeah, this is just disappointing overall. Let’s move on.

• Ariana Grande featuring Social House – Boyfriend
  

Ariana has disappointed me this year with her latest music (save for a few songs that I won’t mention).  Boyfriend just shows how much she has evolved, and simply not for the better.  The beat is not very interesting.  Ariana barely showcases her vocal talent, and the members of Social House didn’t really contribute to anything.  I don’t like the lyrics here, either.  I think they send bad messages.  It’s one of the worst Ariana has had to offer.

• Benny Blanco featuring Tainy, Selena Gomez, and J. Balvin – I Can’t Get Enough

Since Benny Blanco impressed me with Eastside, his latest music hasn’t really been appealing to me. I Found You was pretty mediocre for the most part. Then, he gives us I Can’t Get Enough, which is easily one of the worst singles he’s released so far. Production-wise, it’s pretty obnoxious. I don’t like Benny’s work here and the beat sounds pretty bad. I don’t like the verses we get from either artist. Yeah, this is a mess. NEXT!

• Bryce Vine featuring YG – La La Land
  

It was around this time last year that Bryce Vine had his single titled Drew Barrymore.  I wasn’t a huge fan of that song.  La La Land is just as bad, if not worse than its predecessor.  His voice is not good whatsoever and YG does nothing to impress me.  What more can I say?  Overall, I’m not feeling this one.

• Chris Brown featuring Drake – No Guidance
  

I remember hearing this for the first time and I thought to myself, “this is not good”.  But of course, it ended up becoming a Top 10 hit for whatever reason still unbeknownst to me.  I don’t see the appeal to this song.  I think it’s pretty bad.  Chris sounds bad and he is drenched in auto-tune.  The beat is not interesting and I don’t like the lyrics here.  He didn’t really put forth the effort in his songwriting.  Drake makes a okay contribution here.  But even he couldn’t save the song from being mediocre at best.  So let’s move on.

• DJ Snake featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna, and Cardi B – Taki Taki
  

I remember liking this song back when it was new and I thought it was pretty good. I honestly don’t know what the hell I was thinking. This is not EDM in the slightest. Neither artist sound good here and I don’t like the production. DJ Snake is so much better than this. I liked plenty of what he has to offer over the years. But this isn’t it.

• Halsey – Nightmare

It’s crazy just how much my opinion has changed since the song debuted. It’s pretty much the opposite of Without Me, which I kinda came around to unlike most people here. I really like Halsey and she’s a good singer in my opinion. She has made some stuff that I enjoyed. Nightmare is not one of them, unfortunately. She tried to go for something different when she released the song. But it just did not work out well to mine or anyone else’s liking. Here, she sounds so annoying with her yelling in the chorus. I’m not fond of the lyrical content here. The production is somewhat okay, but everything else brings it way down for me.  Halsey is capable of much better.  But this is terrible and I’m not so sure why I liked it at first.

• James Arthur – Empty Space

Unlike most YouTube critics and some in the blogging community, I never really hated Say You Won’t Let Go. I thought it was pretty decent for the most part. I liked the instrumentation and James sounded okay. But Empty Space is a different story. The song is not good overall. Here, his voice doesn’t sound good and the production is underwhelming. I like the lyrical content in this one, but that’s the only redeeming quality about the song. I may have kinda liked Say You Won’t Let Go, even though it didn’t stick with me in the long run. This one…not so much.

• Jonas Brothers – Cool

The Jonas Brothers have done a lot this year, what with their comeback single Sucker becoming their biggest hit of their career. But Cool was just not a good follow-up to its predecessor. Initially, I thought it was okay because I liked the guitar and their vocals were nice. But after a while, I started to realize just how mediocre the song truly is. Here, they’re bragging about being cool (hence the title) and what not. Personally, I think it sends a bad message. And Nick Jonas does not sound good here. These guys have made some good stuff. But this was not a good choice for a single.

• Kaskade featuring Meghan Trainor – With You

Unlike most people here, I think Meghan Trainor has made some good music. But I’m not very fond of this song. It sorta reminds me of I Wanna Know in a away, which didn’t stick with me. Kaskade is somewhat talented and he’s made some stuff I really like. But this was not a good display of talent. The drop is underwhelming and I don’t like the production work here. Meghan does not sound good at all here. Overall, it’s just not a good EDM song.

• Lil Tecca – Ran$om
  

Not much I can say about this song except it’s no good.   I don’t like Lil Tecca’s voice here.  The production and the beat are not very interesting at all.  The lyrics are pretty bad.  This is another in a long line of generic rap songs that are not very good.

• Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road (Remix)

I’ll admit that I don’t really loathe this one that much as I did back when it was new, mostly because there were even worse songs that came along during the year and thus, it makes the song look better in comparison. It’s still not good though because I don’t like his voice and Billy Ray Cyrus doesn’t do anything to make it better. It does have some country elements, but it was poorly executed as it has a trap beat. It’s sad that this was the song to break the record for most weeks at #1.

• LSD featuring Lil Wayne – Genius (Remix)

LSD consists of a collaboration between three different artists (Labrinth, Sia, and Diplo).  It may be interesting on paper.  But when I heard their music, I was not impressed at all.  Thunderclouds was one of my least favorite songs of last year.  Genius isn’t quite as bad, but it’s still underwhelming and not very good as a whole.  I don’t like Lil Wayne’s verse and the rest of the song is not interesting to me.  Nothing about it really stands out.  So yeah, I’m not fond of this.  NEXT!

• Madison Beer featuring Offset – Hurts Like Hell

Last year, Madison Beer gave us Home With You. Even though it wasn’t anything special, I liked that song for the most part and I included it in my Honorable mentions for 2018. Hurts Like Hell is just bad in and of itself. Madison does not sound good in the chorus and the production is not interesting whatsoever. Offset hardly adds anything to the song. Overall, this is just bad. I want something more along the lines of Home With You, not this.

• Post Malone – Wow.

I’ve warmed up to Post Malone since last year and I think he is talented for the most part. Unfortunately, Wow. is not a good example of that. His voice sounds good here, but the production here is just underwhelming and virtually non-existent. That’s all I have to say about this one. While it’s better than Rockstar and Psycho, it’s not something I can get into. Sorry.

• Push Baby – Mama’s House
  

Formerly known as Rixton. I remember when they had Me And My Broken Heart and I loathed that one with a burning passion, mostly because it comes off as pissy. Mama’s House really isn’t any better. I’m not huge on their vocals and the lyrics are no good. I don’t have much else I can say beyond that.

• Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down
  

I’ve been a big fan of Taylor Swift for a while and Lover was a good album. But this was not a good single choice in my opinion. I get the message that it was going for. But it just didn’t work out for me from a vocal standpoint. The chorus is pretty irritating and not very pleasant to my ears, and the beat has no substance. Yeah, I’m not a fan of this. Taylor has had much better.

• Travis Scott featuring Drake – Sicko Mode

Surprise! You guys thought I was including this in My Bottom 10? Well, here’s the thing: there were worse songs that came along during the year and thus, it barely missed the cut. But that still doesn’t excuse the fact that this is just terrible in every way. The introduction makes me cringe and I knew from the very beginning that this would not be a pleasant listen. Sure enough, I was proven to be right. Not helping matters is the beat switch. And while the rest of the production isn’t as bad as the intro, the brittle trap beat is very unpleasant. Neither artist sound good in the song. And no, I don’t loathe the song because I don’t have faith in the rap genre. I loathe the song because it is a mess. I’ll never get the appeal to this whatsoever.

And that’ll do it for my dishonorable mentions. Those songs were bad, but they were not able to make the Bottom 10.  I can understand the appeal to some of these.  But for the most part, I just couldn’t get into them.  With that in mind, I am ready to present to you my Bottom 10 Songs Of 2019!  Let’s get on with it!

10. Ariana Grande – Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored
Thank U, Next was a very disappointing album in my eyes and it’s sad because I adore Ariana Grande. Her latest music has not been very appealing to me this year. Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored is one of those songs that I legitimately disliked. I guess Ariana sounds good in the song. But I loathe the lyrical content in the song and the message that it sends. I also dislike the production and the use of the trap skitters are annoying. So yeah, this is not good and I hope to never suffer through this again.

9. Ed Sheeran featuring Chance The Rapper and PnB Rock – Cross Me
On the note of other artists who’ve disappointed me this year, we have Ed Sheeran. You’re talking about a guy who has had a big year in 2017, what with Shape Of You being massive and his other singles from Divide following suit. This year, he gave us a new album in the form of No. 6 Collaborations Project. I don’t exactly loathe the album unlike some people. I was just a little indifferent towards the album. There’s some good stuff for sure. But there’s also some putrid songs, such as Cross Me. It just doesn’t really fit Ed Sheeran very well. I don’t really like the production and Chance The Rapper and Pnb Rock did nothing to impress me with their verses. This is the worst Ed has had to offer from his album.

8. Gesafflestein featuring The Weeknd – Lost In The Fire
I know it may seem like I did a complete 180 on this. But I just listened to it for the first time in a while and I did not like it at all. I enjoyed a lot of what The Weeknd has had to offer over the years. Songs such as The Hills, Can’t Feel My Face, In The Night, Starboy, and Pray For Me were some of my favorites from him. But hearing this again, it actually put me in the shoes of those who were not very fond of it at first in large part because of the content it contains. Gesafflestein’s work is no good. He didn’t really impress me here. In addition, the lyrics really bring the song down for me. I find them very cringe-worthy and there’s virtually no depth. It’s supposed to be a diss track aimed at Drake. But it was poorly executed in almost every way possible. Yeah, this is just shit and I don’t know what in the nine hells I was thinking when I liked it before. Sigh. I hate being negative towards The Weeknd, especially since he’s done a lot to impress me over the years. But as a music critic, I have to be honest.

7. Lauv featuring Troye Sivan – I’m So Tired…
This song reminds me of why I’m not sold on Lauv overall. I’ll say that it is better than I Like Me Better, which was also one of my least favorite songs of last year and even me saying this is a step up isn’t saying much. First off, Lauv’s voice is drenched in auto-tune. I can’t think of single part where he sounds good in the song. The production is asinine and I don’t like the beat here. I originally thought Troye made a decent contribution. But hearing this again, I find that he adds virtually nothing to the song whatsoever. Yeah, this is just an unfinished product that is bad on so many levels. NEXT!

6. Jordan McGraw – Flexible
A.K.A. the son of Dr. Phil. I remember not caring for this one very much. But this has only gotten worse every time I heard it. Yeah, everything about this song is a mess. The lyrics to the song make me cringe. I feel like he should’ve taken a different approach because it is poorly-written all around. Production is obnoxious as well, especially after the chorus which I find to be extremely underwhelming in large part because his voice is DRENCHED in auto-tune. Jordan does not sound good in any other part in the song. I can’t think of anyone at this moment that sounds worse than Jordan McGraw. His falsetto is grating. This is insufferable and thus, it’s something I’ll never come back to again. NEXT!

5. Marshmello featuring Kane Brown – One Thing Right
It’s pretty damn sad to see just how low Marshmello has gone lately. I remember when he collaborated with Selena Gomez in Wolves and I ranked it as my #2 best song of 2018. But then, he gave us the huge mess that was of Friends with Anne-Marie. Ever since then, things really went downhill for him. The quality of his music has been slowly degrading and almost every single release has been shit. Now we have One Thing Right. I initially found it to be just underwhelming as fuck and it has only gotten worse with each and every additional listen. I’ll make this plain and simple: this is NOT EDM in the slightest. This is LAZINESS! He did not put forth any effort in producing the song whatsoever. There’s not a single aspect in this song in which he has impressed me. It just shows how much he has evolved for the worse.  I had high hopes for Kane Brown since he’s a good country singer.  But he sounds like shit throughout the song.  And him being drowned in auto-tune just makes matters worse.  And then there’s the asinine lyrics, which talks about a woman being with a guy that does all the wrong things.  Simply put, this is just a mess and it’s another new low for Marshmello.  I was rooting for him following the success of Wolves.  Now, I’m not so sure anymore.

4. Imagine Dragons – Machine
Kudos to fellow blogger Adrian for accurately describing my thoughts on the song when it debuted on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown at the beginning of this year. It was around this time last year that Imagine Dragons gave us a follow-up to Evolve, by the name of Origins. That album was not very outside of a few songs. Machine is easily my least favorite single off of the album and my least favorite single from these guys. I knew from the very beginning that it turn out to not be a good song and sure enough, I was proven right. Dan Reynolds sounds good yelling in certain songs. But here, he sounds so obnoxious with the yelling and I can’t stand it. The guitar is woefully out of place. They attempted to make a rock song out of it. But it was badly executed as Dan’s obnoxious yelling and putrid instrumentation made this not a fun listen. Simply put, this song is a mess and I’m extremely disappointed to have to say that about Imagine Dragons. And to think this is the same band that made songs such as Radioactive, Demons, and On Top Of The World. Compare this to their older singles and this just makes you wonder, “what happened?”.

3. MAX featuring Quinn XCII – Love Me Less
What in the hell is this??? I remember first hearing the song when it debuted on the Weekend Countdown and I didn’t exactly cared for it at first. But it has gotten worse with each and every additional listen. But the fact that it overstayed its welcome on the countdown for way too damn long really pissed me off. Simply put, this song is TRASH. MAX sounds terrible here. I know he has potential of being good, but boy he did not put on a good performance here. His verses have no momentum and the lyrics are terrible.  That, coupled with the production that just blows in more ways than one makes this unbearable.  And don’t even get me started on Quinn XCII’s verse.  It is just GRATING in every sense of the word.  Even though I didn’t liked his predecessor, Lights Down Low back in 2017, at least I kinda saw the appeal to the song.  This is just complete and utter shit.  What even pisses me off more is how overplayed it was.  I’ll never understand the appeal to this whatsoever.

2. Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
I really did not want to hate this song. I tried my best not to hate it because I actually found it okay at first. But it has slowly been getting worse with each and every additional listen and as it continued to gain momentum, it just made it harder and harder until I absolutely couldn’t take it anymore. I’m usually a sucker for piano ballads. So naturally, I have high expectations for these kind of songs. But a good piano ballad requires a decent singer and this one certainly does not. Simply put, Lewis’s voice is terrible. He sounds okay in the first verse. But then it all goes to absolute shit when we get to the chorus. My goodness, does he sound awful there. I legitimately cannot stand it. And not helping matters is that there’s a severe lack of lyrical depth.  Despite me not including this in My Bottom 5 picks every week, it is still a putrid song in almost every way.  Lewis attempted to make a good first impression and the end result was a disaster of a song both in terms of the vocals and the lyrics.  But of course, this was a #1 hit, which shows just how shitty the quality of music has gone.  Hopefully, if Lewis comes with more music in the near future, it’ll be a lot better than this.

1. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings
Every time I hear this song (because trust me, it was not pleasant), I sit here every day and think to myself, “what the hell happened to Ariana Grande?” I really like her ever since she made a breakthrough with Problem. Almost every single she has released up to this point has impressed me. In fact, I recently counted down My Top 10 favorite songs from her back in the summer Love Me Harder and Into You were huge favorites of mine back then and they’re probably one of my favorite songs I’ve heard from Ariana. I fell in love with those songs. But unfortunately, 7 Rings is a much different story. I listened to it for the very first time and I was simply not impressed in the slightest. But of course, this ended up becoming a #1 song because of her overexposure. This song really tested my patience for most of the year and it was absolutely unbearable. Ariana’s attempt at rapping sucks. She’s basically bragging about her material stuff and all that other shit. That, combined with the shitty trap beat and how it poorly interpolates The Sound Of Music just makes this not a fun listen at all. Whatever the hell she was going for did not work out to mine or anyone else’s liking. But what’s even more astounding is just how big it got. She is so much better than this. I’ve had enough of this song. It’s overrated and the worst thing she’s ever put out all fucking year.

Okay, so that’ll do it. What you’ve just read was me tearing apart my least favorite songs of the year. I hope everyone here enjoyed reading this list. But my work is far from done! There will be more Year-End posts in the weeks or even days to come. So, stay tuned! I hope everyone here has a good week as we approach the new decade! Thank you all for reading! Have a good day! 🙂