Twostepcub's Best Hits of 2018: Part Two - #90 to #81...
It's time for round two of my year-end countdown of the biggest "hits" of 2018 on my weekly music chart. You can check out the rules and the first 10 from yesterday by clicking here...
#90 - "This Is Me" from Keala Settle and the Greatest Showman Ensemble
from the album The Greatest Showman (Original Soundtrack) (2017)
Highest rank: #18 (two weeks)
Weeks on the chart: 18
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #58
Songwriters: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Yes, The Greatest Showman was the biggest thing at the start of the year, filling a hole in the artistic doldrums that Frozen filled a few years back. And the presumed "showstopper" of the musical-movie was "This Is Me", sung by Broadway vet and "bearded lady" player Keala Settle. Like with Idina Menzel, it was great to see a bonafide stage star with real talent get mainstream success without having to "pop up" the material (eg: Disney attempting to promote Demi Lovato's "Let It Go" over Menzel's). And of course the message is basic self-empowerment but still was delivered with enough energy to forget that. Even a dance remix of the track reached the charts here in the States, and with the total onslaught of unworthy trap music flooding the charts this was a very welcome respite.
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#89 - "Life Changes" by Thomas Rhett
from the album Life Changes (2017)
Highest rank: #15 (one week)
Weeks on the chart: 15
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #36
Songwriters: Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Ashley Gorley, Jesse Frasure
Sure, this is not country, but nevertheless this charmer from Rhett, who co-wrote this with his own country singer dad Rhett (Akins), is probably his most straightforward and personal, cleanly retelling his directionless college days to his marriage to his plunge into fatherhood. What Jason Mraz should be doing instead of trying to rap again. Rhett was on the list last year with "Star Of The Show" at #48 and "Craving You" (the first single from his Life Changes album) at #28.
#88 - "Too Much To Ask" by Niall Horan
from the album Flicker (2017)
Highest rank: #8 (two weeks)
Weeks on the chart (in 2018): 13
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #66
Songwriters: Niall Horan, Jamie Scott
I would never have guessed that it would be the Irish blonde from One Direction that would so far have the most success in America after the dissolution of the group, landing four hit singles from his solo debut Flicker on Billboard's Adult Top-40 so far. This one, produced by Greg Kurstin, definitely benefits from his work with Adele, as it sounds as close to and Adele track from a guy that I could muster, to the point where it could easily be an "answer record" with its delve into relationship issues - it's my highlight from the album. Last year he landed at #22 with "Slow Hands" and #91 with "This Town".
#87 - "Kiss Somebody" by Morgan Evans
from the album Things That We Drink To (2018)
Highest rank: #15 (one week)
Weeks on the chart: 17
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #53
Songwriters: Morgan Evans, Chris DiStefano, Josh Osborne
The Australian country singer that's not Keith Urban had gone for years releasing music, but wouldn't you know it, after marrying Kelsea Ballerini he now sports a hit of his own in America, and in the spirit of country radio now his even outranked hers (#19 to #43) on the Billboard year-end country airplay list. This one sounds very close to Urban's older (and better) material and deserved a shot on radio this year (as opposed to Urban's overtrying efforts this year).
#86 - "Woman, Amen" by Dierks Bentley
from the album The Mountain (2018)
Highest rank: #10 (two weeks)
Weeks on the chart: 16
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #53
Songwriters: Dierks Bentley, Josh Kear, Ross Copperman
At 43, Dierks could be considered "old-school" country now, but he's always strayed from the bro-country beginnings they tried to peg him with. Last year, he was at #98 with the title track to his album Black, and now he returns with the first single from The Mountain, which continues his path away from the party antics of the genre into more meaty territory, this time heralding women in the time of #MeToo. It's a shame radio didn't actually listen and put some more on the air.
#85 - "Long As I Live" by Toni Braxton
from the album Sex & Cigarettes (2018)
Highest rank: #8 (two weeks)
Weeks on the chart: 14
Billboard Hot 100 peak: did not chart
Songwriters: Toni Braxton, Antonio Dixon, Paul Boutin
After a five year spell since she appeared on my year-end list in 2014 with "Hurt You" with Babyface at #63, the woman who dominated adult soul in the 1990s returns with a song that reminds me of her best of that time, without sounding dated or stale at all. This went to #1 on the Adult R&B chart, but deserved a much better fate on mainstream pop radio as well, it would've fit nicely with the likes of Ella Mai.
#84 - "The Way I Am" by Charlie Puth
from the album Voicenotes (2018)
Highest rank: #3 (one week)
Weeks on the chart: 14
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #61
Now that Charlie's usurpation of Justin Timberlake's niche is complete, his music seems a lot looser and nuanced. While Justin flopped spectacularly with the god-awful shite of "Filthy", Puth's Voicenotes album already had the hit "Attention" behind him, which placed at #9 on my year-end for 2017. Three more singles from the set made this years list, starting with this smooth yet funky introvert theme that explored the same material as Alessia Cara's "Here" but in a less dramatic and more casual style.
#83 - "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" by David Lee Murphy featuring Kenny Chesney
from the album No Zip Code (2018)
Highest rank: #20 (two weeks)
Weeks on the chart: 18
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #66
Songwriters: David Lee Murphy, Jimmy Yeary, Chris Stevens
Talk about coming from nowhere - country singer David Lee Murphy, who hadn't been on my chart since 2004's "Loco" - makes a welcome return with the help of genre A-lister Kenny Chesney, to claim a #1 radio hit in the age where 59-year-olds get sent to the home. Now mind you, Kenny is 50, so it's to his advantage to have some peers in the same age group, but it truly is a feat to reckon with, and a testament to Murphy's ability to cut his own path instead of trying to ape the bro-country boys. Whether this momentum can last is another thing, but it was enough to have a relaxing summer tune to chill to instead of pounding beers to.
#82 - "Drowns The Whiskey" by Jason Aldean with Miranda Lambert
from the album Rearview Town (2018)
Highest rank: #14 (two weeks)
Weeks on the chart: 16
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32
Songwriters: Brandon Kinney, Jeff Middleton, Josh Thompson
It's simply criminal that the likes of Miranda Lambert is practically shunned by country radio since her divorce from Blake Shelton, where her stellar double-album The Weight Of This Wings only was able to send one song to the top ten on the format airplay chart with "Vice" (which couldn't even rank on the 2016 list). She's only back per the credit on Aldean's second single from his latest album, but she really only has a back-up singer presence on this track. On his angle, it's a good "drink my way out of heartache" number, but it may have been more if she was given more substantial lyrics.
#81 - "The Long Way" by Brett Eldredge
from the album Brett Eldredge (2017)
Highest rank: #15 (two weeks)
Weeks on the chart: 15
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #65
Songwriters: Brett Eldredge, Matt Rogers
Well that's all for today's country-heavy installment - I'll return tomorrow with reformed boy band rockers, country's Grammy darling, "meth Pink", and more...
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