2016: A Year In Review - Follow-Up Post

Hey guys, so a week ago, I released my 2016: A Year In Review page, which you can read here. It gave my final thoughts on a handful of things from this year.

However, if I didn't already say in the comments of Adrian's page, I feel as if that page was seriously rushed. I mentioned that I was in a hurry to get it out, as the year is literally at its end and I don't want to look like I don't care. But being in my mid-20s and having a lot to take care of on a regular basis, I don't have quite as much time to focus on certain things as I would like to. And as I've said before, most of my free time has been spent playing Pokémon since Sun and Moon dropped, which is only going to get even crazier once Pokémon Bank updates this coming Tuesday (I'm sorry if all this Pokémon talk from me is getting annoying).

But while I'm here I do want to tie up some loose ends.

The first point I want to talk about: Songs that I forgot on my Bottom 10 list and the #1 lineup.

First thing I wanted to mention, on Friday while I was working there was one song that completely slipped my mind and I can't believe I forgot to mention it: New Americana by Halsey. Yes, the song that soured my initial impression on Closer and made it hard for me to really root for this one. So yeah, let's write a quick summary of this one.

New Americana by Halsey
To sum this one up, this is a protest song for kids who are insulated among their own self-satisfied rights and it worships old-school Americana and not any actual revolution. The lyrics are just inane, with lines like "Raised on Biggie and Nirvana" - for the record, Halsey was born not long from when Kurt Cobain committed suicide and Biggie was offed as well. "High on legal marijuana"? I think it's worth mentioning that Halsey was not even 21 when this song first released. And "what kind of bubble gum have you been blowing lately"... No comment. Now, I don't hate this because I'm old and don't get the generation that Halsey is trying to promote. No, I hate this because it is a mess, and I know I'm not alone in feeling this way. I know that some liked this, but it is not a fun listen for me.

I even put One Call Away in orange in the #1 group (which would make it my least favorite), but didn't mention it on the list, then I had Treat You Better in turquoise and that was on the list. I'm not gonna talk about the former, it's one of the most infamous songs from the Year-End Hot 100 and has been on several worst of 2016 lists and I want to get through this quick, so I really don't think talking about it is necessary.

So yeah, here's what my Bottom 10 would look like:
10. Rise
9. Treat You Better (and put this one in red)
8. One Call Away
7. Sit Still, Look Pretty
6. Work From Home
5. New Americana
4. Work
3. Gold
2. No
1. Me Too

So there you go.

And that brings us to our next point: Rise.

I know that not many people were hard on me for it, but I think this song needs a bit more of a talk from me.

Now, I had made it no secret before that point that I was not a fan of this song at all, even when it first dropped. I remember being very disappointed the first time I heard it. And as I said, the verses feel like they have no momentum at all, and the trap snares in the chorus alongside the synth is grating, something that not even Roar, an overall rather infamous song from 2013, I could say about.

And I know what a few of you will say - given the choice between something that's meant to be empowering like this and telling you to go fight the odds, or the abundance of luxury rap out there with gangstas saying that they're better than you while they spend money, drink and all that fancy stuff (aside from 24K Magic, of course), I should choose the former. But we have other artists to do these kinds of songs, like Sia. In fact, I'm gonna go on record saying that I actually like Alive by Sia, and I was disappointed to see that song fail to take off, which seems to be a pretty unpopular opinion. And no, I don't say that just because of Spectrum Pulse. And on that note, yes, Miles, I do understand that not everything he says you always agree with, if songs like Just Like Fire, You Don't Own Me, and more importantly Closer, are any indication. But for me, Rise is one of those circumstances where he hit the nail on the head as to why the song just sucks.

I even made it a point to state that there are songs by Katy Perry that I like. Let me put it to you this way: when I think Katy Perry, I want songs that are fun and catchy and that I can jam to, such as when I'm driving with my friends in a car. You know, like the Teenage Dream singles, including the title track, California Gurls, Last Friday Night... Even Birthday from Prism was fun too. You know, those songs. Rise is not a song like that. It was originally promoted as a dance song...but I don't see how I'm supposed to dance to it.

Speaking of music critics, it's telling that of the 25 songs mentioned in TheDoubleAgent's original Worst Hit Songs of 2016 lineup - including the nine dishonorable mentions, which this was one of - this was the one he got the most flack for. A song that was only in the Top 20 for one week, which really was little more than just a promotional single in the big picture. Just...why that one? He even remade that video and cut out quite a bit, and that was one of the things he axed.

I also want to take a snippet from what I said in my segment on the song: "...she really needs to cut it out with these recycled self-esteem anthems and go back to the fun tastelessness of her first two albums. And the public seems to agree on that, because not only did this flop on the Billboard Hot 100, debuting just outside of the Top 10 and then sinking, but it lasted a very short three weeks here on the countdown. And mercifully so..." By saying that, I am establishing that it feels like because the song flopped, people want Katy Perry to make stupid, fun party-esque jams, not a meager promotional single like this.

You can also make the argument that, "So you think Rise deserved to flop for being the same song as Roar and Firework, yet you're giving 24K Magic a pass despite being another Uptown Funk where Bruno talks about how great he is?" See, ever since 2012 when Bruno Mars released Unorthodox Jukebox, people have liked how he makes throwback tracks to the old days, which understandably is something that I have come to see not as many people in this countdown community like as much with them being younger and all. Katy Perry, on the other hand, many whom I've seen find this kind of music from her to be less exciting than her fun, poppy stuff.

But for real, guys, to me this song is a disappointment and not what I was hoping for from a Katy Perry return. I think it's boring. That's why I don't like it, and that should not be so hard for some of you to understand. I mean, if you guys like it, by all means, fine, but the point I'm trying to get across is while many were sad to see it flop, I was not one of them.

Let me just say right now, there are worse songs both from Katy Perry and 2016 objectively (Dark Horse, This Is How We Do, and the songs I mentioned in my first point), but if I was ranking the songs based on how unpleasant I find them to listen to, how much they make my ears bleed, what have you, this would be AT LEAST #3. So please guys, I don't hate Katy Perry, and I understand what self-empowerment anthems want to do, but I really do not want to hear or discuss this song ever again. Okay? Good.

Finally, my last point: Not mentioning the Hit-Bound dropouts.


As I may have said before, I didn't initially listen to all the songs that were on Hit-Bound but never made the countdown, and someone was hoping I could color-code all of them. But I recently listened to the ones that I didn't, so I can list off all of them. So here you go, once again using the color coded six point scale (eight with purple and orange being my favorite and least favorite respectively).

Another Lonely Night by Adam Lambert
Back 2 U by Steve Aoki and Boehm featuring Walk The Moon
Bang My Head by David Guetta featuring Sia and Fetty Wap
Basement Party by MAX
Be As You Are by Mike Posner
Brand New by Ben Rector
Cruel by Snakehips featuring Zayn
Electric Love by BORNS

Hello Friday by Flo Rida featuring Jason Derulo

I Wanna Know by Alesso featuring Nico and Vinz

If That's Okay by Bo Napoleon
Infinity by One Direction
Kiss The Sky by Jason Derulo
Lay You Down Easy by Magic! featuring Sean Paul
No Broken Hearts by Bebe Rexha featuring Nicki Minaj
Over And Over Again by Nathan Sykes featuring Ariana Grande
Red Dress by Magic!
Rock Bottom by Hailee Steinfeld and DNCE
Secrets by Jacob Whitesides
Still Falling For You by Ellie Goulding
Stone Cold by Demi Lovato
Superstitious by MKTO
The Night Is Young by The Summer Set
The Sound Of Silence by Disturbed
This Girl by Kungs vs Cookin' On 3 Burners
This Is For My Girls by Kelly Clarkson featuring a bunch of female chicks whose names I'm too lazy to remember
Wild by Troye Sivan and Alessia Cara
And there you have it. So that leaves my Top 45 (or again, however many) Songs of 2016 and the Year-End Hot 100 post. The former I hope to have out before long and the latter should be out by the end of the month. Thanks for reading, everybody.