Twostepcub's Biggest Hits of 2022: Part Two - #90 to #81...
It's time for round two of my year-end countdown of the biggest hits on my weekly music chart for 2022. You can check out part one by clicking here...
#90 - "Afraid To Feel" - LF System
from the single (2022)
Highest rank: #9 (four weeks)
Weeks on the chart: 15
Billboard Dance Airplay peak: #33
Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs peak: #34
Official British Singles Chart peak: #1 (eight weeks)
Songwriters: Joseph B. Jefferson, Richard William Roebuck, Charles Simmons
One of the biggest surprises on the British charts this year was the success of former working-class men turned DJ duo from Scotland that took a forgotten nugget from the 70's disco band Silk, "I Can't Stop (Turning You On)", chopped and screwed with it over their own production and new vocals from Louise Clare Marshall, and ended up ruling the list for two full months. I'm disappointed this didn't have the same impact in the States - blame the diminished role of dance clubs these days.
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#89 - "Cold As You" - Luke Combs
from the album What You See Ain't Always What You Get (2020)
Highest rank (in 2022): #4 (three weeks) (was #4 for three weeks in 2021 as well)
Weeks on the chart (in 2022): 14 (was on for 13 weeks in 2021)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32
Billboard Country Airplay peak: #1 (one week)
Songwriters: Luke Combs, Shane Minor, Randy Montana, Jonathan Singleton
Here's the first of eight songs that accrued enough points to make both last year's top-100 (at #94) and this year's list. It was the seventh track from (the deluxe version) of Combs' sophomore album, and it's just as worthy as the rest, with its booming seething internal rage over a failed relationship. Combs really is the best in the game in "mainstream" country music. He was also on the 2021 list with "Forever After All" at #11 and "Better Together" at #25, and he'll be back again on this list.
#88 - "Love Me More" - Sam Smith
from the album Gloria (2023)
Highest rank: #17 (three weeks)
Weeks on the chart: 17
Hot 100 peak: #73
Billboard Pop Airplay peak: #14
Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay peak: #25
Billboard Adult Top-40 Airplay peak: #14
Dance Airplay peak: #16
British Singles peak: #52
Songwriters: Sam Smith, Jimmy Napier, Stargate (Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Hermansen)
While their triumphant "comeback" in the States, the #1 hit "Unholy" with Kim Petras, just missed my top 100 (it was a couple of weeks of points shy), their previous preview of the upcoming Gloria album, the ode to "love yourself personal maintenance" did the trick, and it deserved it. The uplifting message paired with gospel-inspired backup vocals was the pick me up we all needed in this year of negativity.
#87 - "Love Dies Young" - Foo Fighters
from the album Medicine At Midnight (2021)
Highest rank: #9 (one week)
Weeks on the chart: 17
Billboard Rock & Alternative Airplay peak: #3
Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay peak: #3
Billboard Alternative Rock Airplay peak: #6
Billboard Adult Album Alternative Rock (Triple-A) Airplay peak: #13
Songwriters: Foo Fighters (Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Rami Jaffee, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear)
We saw many music icons pass away this year, like Olivia Newton-John, Meat Loaf, Christine McVie, Loretta Lynn, and Jerry Lee Lewis, but none shocked the collective consciousness than the sudden death of Taylor Hawkins, the drummer and soul of the Foo Fighters, while on tour in South America. It's sadly fitting that this would be their last big hit with him, the fifth from the stellar Medicine At Midnight album. The soaring melody and Taylor's propulsive rhythm underneath was a giant motivator. Three of the previous four singles all made last year's list - "Shame Shame" (#82), "Waiting On A War" (#42), and "Making A Fire" (#36).
#86 - "Green Green Grass" - George Ezra
from the album Gold Rush Kid (2022)
Highest rank: #25 (five weeks)
Weeks on the chart: 20
British Singles Chart peak: #3
Songwriters: George Ezra, Joel Pott, Stuart Price
Britain's prince of adult pop Ezra returned this year with his third album that included this bouncy but fatalistic sing-along that sounded like a punched up Jack Johnson anthem.
#85 - "Saved My Life" - Andy Grammer & R3HAB
from the EP The Art Of Joy (2022)
Highest rank: #14 (two weeks)
Weeks on the chart: 17
Adult Top-40 Airplay peak: #13
Songwriters: Andy Grammer, R3HAB (Fadil El Ghoul), Jacob Torrey, Johnathan Levine, Jonathan Simpson
I think that Grammer has taken over the "nice guy in pop" crown from Jason Mraz, and this positive yet real song about needing help (in Andy's case, his mother's best friend after she passed) is another soul booster 2022 needed, this time with some help from Dutch-Moroccan DJ R3HAB with an unobtrusive backbeat.
from the album La 167 (2021)
Highest rank (in 2022): #32 (two weeks) (was at #22 for four weeks in 2021)
Weeks on the chart (in 2022): 29 (was on for 21 weeks in 2021)
Hot 100 peak: #25
Pop Airplay peak: #34
Billboard Rhythmic Airplay peak: #14
Dance/Electronic Songs peak: #1 (nine weeks)
Songwriters: Farruko (Carlos Rosado), Jose "IAmChino" Garcia, Marcos "Sharo Towers" Perez, Keriel "K4G" Quiroz, Axel "Ghetto" Fulgencio, Victor Cardenas, Andy "White Star" Bauza, Franklin Martinez, Juan Gomez
The second song to also have made the 2021 list, coincidentally also at #84 was this Guaracha Electronica banger that bridged the divide between Latin music and Electronic Dance Music. He paved the way for Bad Bunny's massive crossover success this year. By the way, both this one and "Cold As You" would've made the top 20 this year if both year's total points were counted.
#83 - "Fingers Crossed" - Lauren Spencer-Smith
from the single (2022)
Highest rank: #13 (one week)
Weeks on the chart: 20
Hot 100 peak: #19
Pop Airplay peak: #10
Adult Contemporary Airplay peak: #27
Adult Top-40 Airplay peak: #10
British Singles Chart peak: #4
Songwriters: Lauren Spencer-Smith, Jakke Erixson, Fran Hall
The second of the string of young women that followed Olivia Rodrigo to hit with songs about their crappy exes, Lauren, an alumnus of American Idol, self-released (well, distributed by Island) this simple yet effective ballad that's better if you forget that "Driver's License" exists.
#82 - "Where We Are" - Lumineers
from the album Brightside (2022)
Highest rank: #10 (two weeks)
Weeks on the chart: 16
Rock & Alternative Airplay peak: #7
Alternative Rock Airplay peak: #4
Adult Album Alternative Airplay peak: #3
Songwriters: Lumineers (Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz)
The indie-folk duo unassumedly staked their claim on alternative rock radio with this ballad, that reassures like a lullaby, although lyrics about a car crash lie underneath.
#81 - "Moth To A Flame" - Swedish House Mafia featuring The Weeknd
from the album Paradise Again (2022)
Highest rank: #18 (three weeks)
Weeks on the chart (in 2022): 17 (was on for five weeks in 2021)
Hot 100 peak: #27
Pop Airplay peak: #20
Dance Airplay peak: #2
Dance/Electronic Songs peak: #2
British Singles Chart peak: #15
Songwriters: Swedish House Mafia (Axel "Axwell" Hedfors, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso), The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye), Carl Nordström
After going on hiatus for a decade the EDM giants reunited this year, preceded by this eerie single that taps into the Weeknd's dark music persona, for a bop that combines the best of both without being boring. Of course, the Weeknd dominated 2021, with three big songs on the year end list with "Save Your Tears" at #3, "Blinding Lights" at #35 (and was also #5 for 2020), and "Take My Breath" at #49.
Well round two is over, I'll be back tomorrow with ten more, including this week's big album, a superstar gets her revenge (again), and two country songstresses sing about cheating.
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