Twostepcub's Biggest Hits of 2024: Part One - #100 - #91...

 

 

Hey everyone, thanks for being patient - I had to take a longer break than expected for the holidays, but I am finally back with the start to my countdown of the biggest hits on my weekly personal chart of 2024. Every seven days I put together in my OCD fugue of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music (with a sprinkle of hits from the United Kingdom), and I've crunched the numbers (basically an inverted scale where #1 gets 100 points, #100 gets 1 point, with extra points for each extra week at #1) and tallied this final. By no means is this the BEST in my own mind of the year, but it does give a look into what I was listening to. There's a few on here I'm ashamed of (as always) that hung around long enough to place high here, but there isn't any Jason Aldeans or Kanyes (yes, I am dead-naming him) on here. Seven songs that were on last year's list made the cut again, and at the end I'll playlist everything here. And away we go...

#100 - Scared To Start - Michael Marcagi

            from the EP American Romance (2024)

           2scchart peak: #16 (two weeks)

           Weeks on chart: 18

           Points: 909

American newcomer hopped on the Noah Kahan train for this affable hipster-folk about the uneasiness of new love. An unexpected bigger success in the UK than here in the States.

 

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#99 - She's Somebody's Daughter (Reimagined) - Drew Baldridge

          from the album Country Born (2022)

          2scchart peak: #28 (two weeks)

          Weeks on chart: 19

          Points: 934

This song has been kicking around since 2022, seeing the country singer's label close shop and taking it into his own hands to re-release his own version, which eventually made the wedding reception circuit (if you don't listen to the lyrics too closely otherwise it sounds like a warning) for the father-daughter dance. 

#98 - Taste - Sabrina Carpenter

          from the album Short n' Sweet (2024)

          2scchart peak: #2 (two weeks)

          Weeks on chart: 13 (still charting)

          Points: 935

This was definitely the year for pop music's hetero dream girl, Sabrina Carpenter, as she ties for the most songs on my list this year, including her current smash that plays off the bitter ex storyline with such sexual playfulness that carries over in the hilariously graphic music video. 

#97 - Friendly Fire - Linkin Park

          from the album Papercuts (Singles Collection 2000-2023) (2024)

          2scchart peak: #6 (one week)

          Weeks on chart: 13

          Points: 937

Before they brought in new co-lead Emily Armstrong, nu-metal juggernauts added this outtake from their 2017 One More Light sessions to their hits retrospective. Hearing the late Chester Bennington brings the feels, and it earned its place on the set with another #1 rock road success.

#96 - Murder On The Dancefloor (Like A Version) - Royel Otis

          from the single (2024)

          2scchart peak: #25 (two weeks)

          Weeks on chart: 22

          Points: 943

2024 sure was a crazy year for many reasons, the least of which is that a song made my year-end top 100 for two different acts in two different genres. Australian modern rock duo Royel Otis went "viral" with their cover for that country's radio channel Triple J of Sophie Ellis Bextor's dance-pop gem from 2001 that itself got resurrected thanks to the movie Saltburn which feels like it came out a decade ago. This white-boy funk version got the song to a whole new audience.

#95 - Lovers In A Past Life - Calvin Harris and Rag N' Bone Man

         from the album 96 Months (2024)

         2scchart peak: #19 (three weeks)

         Weeks on chart: 15

         Points: 948

Before there was Jelly Roll and Teddy Swims, British rapper turned belter Rory "Rag N' Bone" Graham held the space for face-tatted bears in the pop world. DJ/producer chameleon Calvin Harris brings him back again to show how it's done in this nicely urgent house track that has Rory sounding quite like Sam Smith in his prime.

#94 - Young Love and Saturday Nights - Chris Young

          from the album Young Love and Saturday Nights (2024)

          2scchart peak: #22 (two weeks)

          Weeks on chart: 20

          Points: 950

Oh man. Well I said I'm embarrassed for a couple here, and this is certainly the first, with country hunk Chris appropriating David Bowie for this Nashville branding exercise. But at least he puts some oomph into the result treating the hook as a sample, rather than the Machine Gun Kelly dumpster fire (which isn't on here).

#93 - Eyes Closed - Imagine Dragons

          from the album Loom (2024)

          2scchart peak: #15 (four weeks)

          Weeks on chart: 15

          Points: 952

Rock music's current punching bags are still chugging along, and I don't care, I still (mostly) get their vibe, even though this one attempting Timberlake-esque swagger is bordering on cringe. It's still musically interesting to me with, well, my eyes not closed on watching Dan Reynolds.

#92 - Used To Be Young - Miley Cyrus

          from the album Endless Summer Vacation (2023)

          2scchart peak: #3 (two weeks)

          Week on chart (in 2024): 13 (was on for 13 weeks in 2023)

          Points: 956

Here we have the first of the seven songs returning from last year, as Miley Cyrus' powerful self-reflective ballad straddled the years in the top ten (it was #77 on my 2023 list). Remains one of her best, even more so than "Flowers" (which was last year's top song and even stuck around long enough to place at #242 on the expanded 2024 list).

#91 - I Can Feel It - Kane Brown

         from the album The High Road (2025)

         2scchart peak: #15 (one week)

         Weeks on chart: 16

         Points: 974

Brown is in his wheelhouse with this driving rock-ish country hybrid that makes good bar background music. Nothing groundbreaking, but at least no sappy ode to his wife.

And there we have it for the first part - next I'll have the latest incarnation of the aforemention rock band, a lascivious lesbian love song, the better half of a bro-country duo, and more.