The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2010

The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2010

In the following few paragraphs, I explore the club boom-filled year that kicked off the 2010s and look at the gems of it.

What’s up guys, welcome back to Fire’s Flaming Hot Takes with another list. Today, we’re taking a look at the top 10 best hit songs of 2010!

2010 is a year widely regarded as one of the worst of the decade for the Hot 100. But honestly, I think this assertion is false. It’s not one of the best years of the 2010s, by any means, and there were more hits this year that have aged pretty badly than other years of the club boom, but it was still overall quite good.

The pop music in 2010 is quite easy to analyze. We were knee deep into the club boom, where songs about nonstop partying flooded the music scene. These songs exploded with a bunch of personality, color, and fun. Oh and blaring synths. This flooded the pop scene and even some of the hip hop scene. This electropop definitely sounds dated today though. However, the nostalgia that I have towards this style of electropop definitely overpowers that dated aspect. So that was what was happening in the nightclub, what about outside of it? Well,  country and rock had pretty damn good years, and as a whole showed some promising quality, outside of maybe a few on my worst list. And then adult contemporary had a huge showing this year, but this was very hit or miss. But that said, those hits were great.

Overall, there were 66 songs on this year-end list - including 2009 repeats - that landed in my “decent tier” or higher, which is a great showing honestly. So now it’s time to get started on the list, as a reminder of the rule, the songs had to debut on the year-end Hot 100 for 2010 in order to qualify, so I’d like to make myself believe that a certain 2009 repeat will definitely place high on that list if I ever get to that one - hint hint. So time to check out the songs that really stood out and have aged the best from this club boom-filled year, starting with our honorable mentions!

HM #1: Taylor Swift - Today Was A Fairytale (YE: #84, PEAK: #2)

This is by no means Taylor’s best song ever, but that said it’s still great. The warm guitars really evoke that magical, airy feeling that Taylor is trying to create. Yeah, Taylor’s vocals aren’t particularly strong here, but on some level, the weaker vocals work for this song. It really brings out that innocent vibe, which honestly matches that “fairytale” theme. It’s why the original “Love Story” works so well for me. And while this isn’t “Love Story”, this works, I’ll take it.

HM #2: Lady A - Need You Now (YE: #2, PEAK: #2)

As I said, adult contemporary had a big year in 2010, with many songs remaining in recurrent rotation throughout the rest of the decade, mostly for worse. And “Need You Now” was one of those songs, and admittedly, I hated this song for a long time, and I really only came around to it in 2020. But once it clicked, I found a lot to like about it. The piano line is simple but effective in what it’s trying to create and the guitars really amp up their performance, especially in that solo! Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley have great chemistry between each other and really sell that they want to be back with each other even if it will end badly. I won’t mind this being an adult contemporary staple for the following years, because it’s damn great.

HM #3: Eminem f/Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie (YE: #7, PEAK: #1)

Let me get the obvious criticism out of the way: the “window pane” line is terrible and honestly kinda insensitive. And a song like “Love The Way You Lie” allows very little room for error, because the lyrics depict domestic violence. But it works in “Love The Way You Lie”. The piano and guitars backing up Rihanna in the chorus, who really sounds like she’s at her most vulnerable and hurt, the very minimalist acoustic guitar being backed up by the light percussion, they all sound great. Then the lyrics, they truly nail both side's perspectives on the song. Again, the margin of error is razor thin, but they pull it off. I do wish Rihanna’s verse wasn’t just copy and pasted for all the choruses, this would’ve really benefitted from more emotional build-up in her delivery. But for such a delicate subject matter as this, Eminem and Rihanna killed it, great song.

HM #4: Far East Movement f/The Cataracs & Dev - Like A G6 (YE: #37, PEAK: #1)

This is objectively the greatest piece of music I have ever heard in my 16 years of being on this planet Earth but it was unfair to the rest of the songs so I had to only put it in honorable mentions.

HM #5: Neon Trees - Animal (YE: #61, PEAK: #13)

One of the few spurts of rock on the Hot 100 in the 2010s, “Animal” is a massive banger that may be more than a bit reminiscent of The Killers, but I don’t want to discount this song just because of that. The lyrics are super colorful, Tyler Glenn has so much fun and charisma in his voice that help this song really explode with fun, especially in the bridge. I also like the new wave flourishes, the guitars and synths sound really terrific together. Damn fun song, and while it’s not the best alternative crossover of the 2010s, it’s still great.

HM #6: Jason Derulo - In My Head (YE: #14, PEAK: #5)

Nostalgia always plays a huge role in my best lists. It’s why “In My Head” landed in my honorable mentions. And yes, the production sounds a bit too much like “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga. But honestly, this song works in its own right - the synths sound awesome, Jason Derulo sounds great on this song, and the melody really sticks in your head - no that wasn’t intended. It’s not his best song, by any means - though I don’t think he’ll ever top “The Other Side”, but this is definitely up there.

HM #7: Orianthi - According To You (YE: #55, PEAK: #17)

Just like “Animal”, this was one of the last spurts of rock on the Hot 100 in the 2010s. Orianthi doesn’t exactly have the best voice, but she really suits this rock production well. The guitars are quite good and they sound excellent in the bridge. I don’t know, maybe I’m being too kind to this song, but you know what it still works regardless, I’ll take it.

Alright, now let’s start with...

10...Oh boy, we’re starting off unpopular already, huh. This song was subjected to so much unwarranted hate for nearly an entire decade, you probably might remember it used to be the most disliked video on YouTube. And if I’m being honest, I did jump on the hate bandwagon for this song back in elementary school. But that said, I think this has actually aged a lot better than I was expecting it to...

10. Justin Bieber f/Ludacris - Baby (YE: #44, PEAK: #5)

On the surface, “Baby” is really a simple song. This dance-pop production is no different than most of the music we got in 2010. But “Baby” is honestly quite likeable. The synths honestly supply this song with a really damn great melody, the beat is remarkably catchy, and Justin’s vocals are really not that bad on this song. He actually has some charisma on this song, and he has enough sincerity to make this song work. Not to mention Ludacris’s verse is honestly quite fun. Then the lyrics. Okay yeah, the repetition of “baby” definitely might’ve been a bit much, but again, it’s Bieber’s sincerity that really saves most of this song. And I’ll certainly take the repetition of “baby” over the repetition of “yummy”. Yeah, I’m not gonna pretend to dislike this song, because this has held up remarkably well.

9...Usher managed to land 4 hits on the 2010 year-end list. And three of them ended up making my worst list. But there was one exception, one song that really slapped then and still does now...

9. Usher f/Pitbull - DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love (YE: #22, PEAK: #4)

“OMG” might’ve ended up being the bigger hit at the time, but “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love” is the song that has managed to stick around of the two, and rightfully so. And let me start off by saying that this has quickly become one of my go-to songs to blast on Fridays, all because of that line in the first verse “thank god the week is done”. It really sets the mood and just fills me with so much joy. The synths in the chorus sound terrific, the beat is super tight, and Usher is really killing it here. He’s really bringing in all his charisma and fun and it just gives the song that much more power. And Pitbull’s nonsense lyrics but overall just complete fun personality fit this song super well, even if he is admittedly the weakest aspect of this song. Also, creeper.

8...This next song is super different compared to the other songs from this time period. But honestly what surprised me the most was that it never even touched adult contemporary radio, it would’ve fit into that climate so well. It’s a shame as well, because this would’ve been a fantastic addition...

8. Shontelle - Impossible (YE: #70, PEAK: #13)

Granted, this song isn’t even entirely just adult contemporary, there are bits of synth-pop placed here. But still, it would’ve been an amazing addition to the format. And there isn’t much for me to talk about here. The synths sound great, the piano melody sounds fantastic, and Shontelle’s vocals are very heartfelt and potent. And it’s a nice shot of hope as well. As somone who has fallen into moments of depression, the feeling of not being able to move on is an awful feeling. Listening to “Impossible” honestly makes you feel triumphant afterward, like you just overcame a huge obstacle in your path, helped out by those synths really helping this song climax. Yeah, I love this song, definitely a forgotten gem worth digging back up.

7...This next pick is surprisingly contentious. I honestly thought this was mostly a well-liked song, and the big reason I’m shocked is that this song is just “naturally” really likeable in pretty much every aspect...

7. Selena Gomez & The Scene - Naturally (YE: #77, PEAK: #29)

This isn’t Selena Gomez’s best song - though “It Ain’t Me” is very hard to top - but it’s definitely up there. “Naturally” has a super tight beat, with the electropop effects starting off small before it really lets all loose in the chorus. And Selena Gomez herself, she sounds terrific here. She sounds very comfortable here, allowing her to play into her strengths. And yeah, the backing vocals in the prechorus definitely could’ve been added in a bit better, but what comes in the chorus is what pushes this over the top for me. Selena starts singing with a very lovestruck and happy tone which is what the song really needs. She sings like she has natural - no pun intended - chemistry with this production, which really symbolizes her supposed chemistry with this guy in question. It’s a subtle detail that I might be overthinking, but “Naturally” is absolutely adorable, and definitely worth revisiting, because it’s a fantastic little song.

6...Oh don’t look at me like that.

6. Train - Hey Soul Sister (YE: #3, PEAK: #3)

Uh...oh boy. I’ll start by saying that the lyrics in this song are impressively stupid, and I think that one line we’ve all memed - “I’m so gangsta I’m so thug” - is enough evidence of such. And this was probably the biggest adult contemporary hit of the 2010s and has stuck around for the entire decade and has certainly gotten a lot of recurrent airplay throughout the decade. This song should be insufferable for me, but honestly I kinda really love “Hey Soul Sister” if I’m being embarrassingly honest. It’s partially due to the nostalgia, but I actually kinda really like this song overall either way. The ukulele and guitar are great fits for each other and it honestly sounds really nice. And then Pat Monahan’s delivery, look it’s obviously at points sorta grating, but hell, it’s too earnest in this song for me to dislike. It’s kinda charismatic and in a way pretty charming, also why those impressively stupid lyrics don’t really bring this down for me. Yeah, “Hey Soul Sister” is probably super objectively bad, but it’s really cute at the same time, and I genuinely can’t dislike this at all.

5...It’s still quite fascinating how quickly this next artist managed to get on most critics’ good side. But I’m one to usually defend his work during 2010 to 2011. But that said, this song probably rises above most of that period, and I’ll even call it one of the best songs he has ever made...

5. Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are (YE: #18, PEAK: #1)

This song is without a question up there with “Uptown Funk” as one of the defining songs of Bruno Mars’s career. And for good reasons, because “Just The Way You Are” is absolutely fantastic. There have been some criticisms about its lyrical content coming across as a bit creepy, and quite frankly, I don’t get it? “Just The Way You Are” is about Bruno’s love and appreciation for this girl rather than her insecurities, which really makes this song work that much more perfectly. And could it be considered cheesy? Well, probably, but the song’s cheesiness is really why it works so well. Definitely in part due to Bruno Mars himself, he has enough personality to sound incredibly lovestruck about this girl. Backed up by one of the warmest and most romantic instrumentals of Bruno Mars’s career, with the piano and guitar delivering a melody that I absolutely adore, “Just The Way You Are” is a beautiful song.

4...There aren’t many points on this list where I can point to an artist and say “man, I wish they were still making this song”. This rapper, though, is pretty much the definition of an artist who had so much potential, only to throw it all away in the coming years...

4. B.o.B. f/Hayley Williams - Airplanes (YE: #6, PEAK: #2)

Quite arguably one of my biggest nostalgia bombs ever, I really adore “Airplanes”. And honestly, this song is very simple on the surface, but it’s so much more for me. A fantastic piano line, the guitar that really adds a lot of weight to the production, and the percussion that’s honestly quite perfect, there’s no other way for me to put it. Hayley Williams sounds perfect on the hook, and B.o.B. really delivered several great verses. The song is about B.o.B. yearning to go back to the days where he had a little bit of anonymity. It’s a song about nostalgia and yearning for simpler times, it’s about nostalgia and it itself has an incredibly nostalgic vibe. As a junior in high school, I too want to go back to simpler, happier times. “Airplanes” has an oddly carefree, innocent vibe that really fills you with euphoria. And given how badly B.o.B. squandered his potential later on in the decade - seriously listen to this song and then listen to “Flatline” and try to fathom that this is the same rapper - “Airplanes” still soars high, and rightfully so.

3...But on the topic of artists that had incredibly high highs before really throwing away all their quality and potential in the following years...

3. Eminem - Not Afraid (YE: #24, PEAK: #1)

Despite my immense nostalgia for “Airplanes” as a kid, you could argue that it was more of a pop song. If anything, “Not Afraid” was really my gateway to recognizing the quality that hip hop could deliver. And yeah, it has a special place in my heart to this day. The synthesizers supply the song a fantastic melody, the guitars and piano give the song a nice bit of support, and the beat is honestly perfect. And then Eminem, the man’s dropping some of his most awe-inspiring and best bars he delivered in the 2010s. Eminem’s more abrasive rapping actually really fits what this song is trying to go for. He’s got that really awe-inspired and encouraging tone in his voice that’s exactly what makes this song work so well. The song really swells in the chorus adding that anthemic sound, and really, it’s all these little details that make the song work so well. The song is an anthem for people to overcome their struggles, and letting everybody know that they are not alone, and you know what, I’m giving Eminem a lot of respect for this. I know many are gonna be a bit hesitant to giving this song a second chance, especially given the general consensus that the Recovery era of Eminem hasn’t aged very well and his continuous decline in quality over the years, but “Not Afraid” is still a highlight in Eminem’s career, and a song that really deserves some serious reconsideration, because this is a fantastic song.

2...The club boom of the early 2010s really saw the birth of a bunch of artists that really just had a few big hits during this time period and just fell off the face of the Earth the second it collapsed on itself. And one of them would be none other than Taio Cruz!

2. Taio Cruz f/Ludacris - Break Your Heart (YE: #10, PEAK: #1)

You know, I wouldn’t normally like a song like this. The song’s lyrical content is about being a heartbreaker rather than being heartbroken. The song just feels incredibly toxic all the way through, and definitely puts Taio Cruz in a very bad light. But you know what, this song placed all the way up here on my list because of its production. The synths sound terrific, the beat is super tight, Taio Cruz has a lot of charisma, and Ludacris’s guest verse honestly slaps. Speaking of Taio Cruz’s charisma, he honestly delivers enough so that the lyrics don’t exactly bother me at all. He has a swagger to his delivery that honestly makes me not want to discount the song. And on top of that, the lyrics are framed to act as a warning and that Taio Cruz doesn’t intend to actually do any of this harmful stuff, rather than trying to disguise him as a “nice guy”. So yeah, “Break Your Heart” is awesome, and definitely a gem from the club boom.

1...I knew from the very moment I started looking through the year-end list for 2010 that this would be the song to top my best list. I’m a bit surprised that this artist managed to occupy my top 2 slots, though. But I have to acknowledge a landmark song in my music discovery and growth, and a song that was my all-time favorite song for pretty much the entire first half of the decade, and...let’s explain why...

1. Taio Cruz - Dynamite (YE: #9, PEAK: #2)

If you want a song that really is safe to call the club boom in one song, it’s “Dynamite”, the second and final hit from Taio Cruz that while it didn’t hit #1 like “Break Your Heart” did, is the one that has remained more culturally relevant. “Dynamite” is an incredibly dumb song that requires a lot of charisma in order to work, and man does Taio Cruz nail this. The autotune is actually not done excessively and it allows Taio Cruz to keep his presence. The production is super bombastic and nightclub ready, and my god does it absolutely slap. This song is honestly quite heavily influenced by synths and a piano line, and they both sound so awesome. The piano line is killer, the beat is super heavy and gives the song so much momentum, and the synths, especially in the prechorus, just sound fantastic. Then we get to the bridge, I can’t tell you enough about how transcendent the bridge feels, it’s like you’re on top of the world, and it’s honestly quite a perfect climax to this song. It’s a nice feeling of not caring about what anybody else thinks and just putting your damn hands in the air. The lyrics aren’t really anything special, in fact, they are honestly kinda dumb, but again, Taio Cruz’s personality and this bombastic and fire production really carry this song and they really fit the entire partying and club vibe so well so overall I’d call them a positive. And you know what, as far as I can tell, this was the first song I ever heard. And from that moment, little 5 year old me just fell in love with it. I don’t know if I would’ve liked music at all today if it weren’t for this song, it’s honestly the biggest reason I look back on the club boom so fondly. It’s just pure fun, carefree, nostalgic joy all wrapped up in a song that absolutely slaps pretty much any time I can think of off the top of my head. “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz is the best hit song of 2010, and it’s one of the biggest bangers of the past decade, I’m guaranteeing that. If you haven’t heard this song in a while, go revisit it, it’s worth it. Also go stream the Captain Sparklez Minecraft parody, you’re very much welcome.

So that’s the list!! Definitely loved making it, and now we only have two years left to wrap up the 2010s. Stay tuned for 2012, a year that has garnered a reputation of being one of the most glorious of the 2010s, and the next year I’m looking at! Until then, have a great day!