An Abridged Look at the Non-US Hits of 2023

 

An Abridged Look at the Non-US Hits of 2023

In the following long overdue article, I take a look at both the good and the bad songs the 2023 year-end lists of English-speaking countries outside of the US gave us.

Well this us out earlier than expected. Anyway, we’re back. I’m hosting the 2023 Non-US Hits rankdown on Pulse as of writing and I do this every year at this point, so let’s do this. Today, we’ll be looking at some of the songs that made the 2023 year-end list in the UK, Australia, or Canada but NOT the US.

So with that in mind, these are the qualifications for the songs that I’m choosing to highlight. As with previous years, the songs that are highlighted in this article are the songs that became hits in the UK, Australia, or Canada that would’ve made my best or worst list for 2023 had they become hits in the US - and yes, the honorable and dishonorable mentions count. I will not mention songs that had made a previous non-US hits list - so no, you’re not gonna see “Another Love” by Tom Odell here - nor songs that had made a prior US list - so no, you’re not gonna see “Mr. Brightside” or “Someone You Loved” here either. Also, if the songs are set to become hits in the US in 2024, let’s take “Strangers” by Kenya Grace or “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan for example, they don’t count either, there are a few songs that’ll likely straddle this line, but I’ll just say that I can’t predict the future and if a song I consider ineligible now misses the 2024 US YE, so be it. And yes, my opinions have shifted quite a bit and my best and worst lists for 2023 would probably be slightly different if I made it now, but I was still able to pull something together. Also for this year, since Billboard is incredibly stupid and should be fired into the sun for cutting the tracking period off at 49 weeks this year, I won’t be counting songs that would’ve made the US year-end of it was a 52 week tracking period - hence, you’ll not see “bad idea right?” here. You got all that? Alright, let’s get this started with the worst!

Central Cee - Let Go (#78 AUS, #59 UK)

I don’t know how you manage to dessecrate a song that was already mediocre to begin with, but this did it. I never liked Passenger’s “Let Her Go” for being boring with really bad delivery, but this song is just so much worse. The interpolation doesn’t match the song’s content at all. Passenger’s “Let Her Go” was about Passenger telling this new guy to treat his ex right. Central Cee, meanwhile, uses it to make a bitter song about this girl dumping him and then him going the “WITHOUT YOU” by The Kid LAROI route of calling her a hoe. Except while “WITHOUT YOU” was amateurish and whiny/emo enough to make it weirdly work, “Let Go” is trying to be sensitive, the way the interpolation is sung so restrained. So much so that according to Genius, when Central Cee showed this song to his girlfriend, she said “Don’t call girls hoes”. Let this song go, this is terrible. But you know what, on the topic of dessecrating songs that were never good to begin with...

David Guetta, Anne-Marie, & Coi Leray - Baby Don’t Hurt Me (#47 CAN, #93 UK)

I’ll be blunt, I humbly believe that “What Is Love” by Haddaway is the single most overrated song of all time because I can’t stand how overwrought the delivery of that iconic line is. But you know what, I’ll take that overwrought mess over this! Anne-Marie singing this song instead sounds utterly soulless, no emotion whatsoever, it sounds a lot like it was made to get a quick paycheck and bounce. And that’s before we get to the shoehorned rap verse from Coi Leray that doesn’t match with anything whatsoever. That verse, more than anything solidified this song as this meme in song form:

As someone who really likes “I’m Good (Blue)” this is awful.

Morgan Wallen f/ERNEST - Cowgirls (#99 CAN)

This is not Morgan Wallen’s worst song or even the worst song on One Thing At A Time, given “Ain’t That Some” exists, which I still think is one of the worst songs of all time. Deal with it, that song is repugnant. But “Cowgirls” is still terrible, with an admittedly decent minor key melody utterly ruined by that trap percussion. Wallen’s twang could definitely be worse, but that doesn’t make it not utterly unlistenable here. Yet I think ERNEST might be the worst part of this song, There’s NO twang in his voice, the opposite problem of Wallen, and him and Wallen have no chemistry whatsoever. Yeah, this cowgirl doesn’t deserve to live very long.

Oliver Tree & Robin Schulz - Miss You (#94 CAN, #61 UK, #46 AUS)

I’ll say it again, Oliver Tree is the most appeal-less artist I’ve ever heard. I might hate Jason Aldean’s music way more, but you know what, at least I can picture a guy who’d think he’s the greatest artist ever. I can’t imagine anyone that would enjoy Oliver Tree’s music at all. The original “Jerk” by Mr. Tree was already bad enough, but Robin Schulz just steals that song and remixes it into a cheap eurodance throwback where Oliver Tree has none of the personality that made the sound work to begin with! He sounds way more like a 2 year old mad at his mommy for grounding him, and with how petulant the lyrics are, it feels pretty fitting!! Yeah, I don’t want an Oliver Tree, give me a Joshua tree instead.

So that’s all the bad songs out of the way (thank fuck there were only 4 of those), now for the great stuff, way more here!

Becky Hill & Chase & Status - Disconnect (#66 UK)

This song is just a slapper all the way down. Becky Hill’s voice is really powerful and compliments the similarly powerful drum and bass production, from those synths to the subtle swell of the bass, this slaps so hard.

Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding - Miracle (#5 UK, #48 AUS)

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding working together is just a match made in heaven at this point. While I wouldn’t quite say that I love this as much as “I Need Your Love”, this is still excellent, Calvin’s production makes use of Ellie’s biggest strength for me: understated vocals to compliment powerful production while not getting overpowered. This might be considerably more understated than something like “Burn”, one of my favorite songs of all time, but it has a weird subtle power that quietly builds into Ellie’s hook. And yeah, that production is incredible as well, the piano keys that give this a euro-trance vibe are just chef’s kiss. Yeah, this song might not be a “miracle” per se, because the expectation of quality was already high from these two working together, but this is awesome.

Casso, Raye, & D-Block Europe - Prada (#33 UK, #61 AUS)

I feel like I made a very conscious choice to not put “Escapism” on my best list for 2023. Now, that song did grow on me considerably and probably would make it now,  but I don’t know what to tell you, it was just not instant for me. This, on the other hand, was very instant for me, the vocal trance production sounds awesome and Raye’s vocals are extremely atmospheric. Great track!

d4vd - Here With Me (#97 CAN)

Well, this was a huge grower for me. I was first familiar with d4vd for “Romantic Homicide”, which was pretty bad, and this was a song that at first I only found decent at best. I wasn’t fond of d4vd’s vocals and the song as a whole kept leaving me wishing I liked it more. But one day, it just all clicked. d4vd’s voice is still not great, but I feel like now he’s playing the role of a nerdy/uncool kid just grateful for his partner and earnestly stumbling over himself trying to make a song for her. Probably helps that the production feels really serene, the synths and the quiet kick give this a weird hangover vibe in a good way and that matches the “nerdy/uncool kid” vibe I mentioned earlier. Yeah, this is genuinely really sweet. Incredible song, nice job d-four-vid.

Dean Lewis - How Do I Say Goodbye (#68 AUS)

I swear, this is the only personal moment I’ll put here. Oh god, I both love and hate this song at the same time. I love it because...well, it’s a song about loss, it hits all my weak spots in songwriting. And Dean Lewis just sings this so earnestly and you can tell that the loss of his father really impacted him and he doesn’t know what to say because there’s way too much to say in so little time. But why do I “hate” this song? Well, at my grandma’s funeral last summer I had planned something to say while there and it quoted lines from this song when I planned to say what I wanted to say, but I completely blanked out in the middle of speaking and I’ll probably forever hate myself for doing that there. I still feel really embarrassed, to be honest.

Foo Fighters - Everlong (#70 AUS)

Yes, this single from 1997 managed to just linger around on the Australian charts for long enough to make its year-end! And yeah, this slaps really hard, the distorted guitars sound so good and Dave Grohl’s vocals are super potent. Not much else to say here, just a great song.

Hannah Laing & RoRo - Good Love (#56 UK)

This was my favorite first listen here, it’s a eurodance banger that while I do wish there was more presence in the vocals, the production is really doing a lot of heavy lifting here, with the atmospheric synths and what sounds like a trumpet subtly building up swell throughout the track in the way the best eurodance does. Excellent song!

Jorja Smith - Little Things (#89 UK)

The afro house production sounds really slick and smooth and Jorja Smith’s vovals ride this beat so seamlessly. It reminds me a lot of Tyla’s “Been Thinking” and that’s pretty high praise! Great little track, you just gotta appreciate the great little things sometimes, you know?

Kendrick Lamar f/Jay Rock - Money Trees (#89 AUS)

Yup, “Everlong” was not the only old song to linger on the Australian charts for long enough to make its year-end this year! Because this track from 2012’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City managed to last long enough to make the year-end in Australia!! Kendrick’s flow is on point here and Jay Rock’s contributions here are also great. But obviously, this song’s strongest point is its lyrics, which have Kendrick and Jay reflecting on their upbringing in poverty in the streets of Compton, CA. Also the “ya bish” part is way catchier than it has any right to be. Great song, but be real, you all already knew that.

Lil Nas X - Star Walkin’ (League Of Legends Worlds Anthem) (#61 CAN)

Hot take, but this might be my favorite post-“Old Town Road” Lil Nas X song. Sure, it’s not perfect, I’m really not sure if Lil Nas X thanking god that his dad for never wearing a condom was necessary, it more nuters the bombast than anything. But yeah, this is an utter banger, the guitars swell up incredibly and match the content about how we should never underestimate Lil Nas X and that he’ll always make it out alive and it’s never over if he’s breathing. And Lil Nas X proves to have a shockingly potent voice. This song should’ve kept Lil Nas X star walkin’ in the US.

Lizzy McAlpine - Ceilings (#92 CAN, #35 UK, #92 AUS)

I might like Lizzy McAlpine way more than I had realized, her album five seconds flat is utterly incredible, and this isn’t even my favorite song from it but I still love this all the same. The acoustic guitar strumming is so serene and Lizzy’s vocals really match it, and this takes us to the content, which entails  nostalgic reminiscence of a past relationship. Coupled with songwriting that is on a level equivalent of “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift, and you get the picture that Lizzy is trying to recapture the magic of this past relationship, if only for a brief, fleeting moment. This is gorgeous, truly robbed in the US.

Loreen - Tattoo (#84 UK)

After 2 US hits in 2021, it feels like “Eurovision”’s US chart influence has basically completely sputtered out. Which is a shame, because “Tattoo”, the winner of 2023’s Eurovision is such a great song. Loreen is a vocal powerhouse. And her vocals swell up with the production so well. Apparently this song caused her to become the second ever artist to win Eurovision twice. Well deserved!!

Loud Luxury, DVBBS & Kane Brown - Next To You (#66 CAN)

It’s insane how wildly Kane Brown fluctuates between quality and utter crap, both when he’s making country and pop! “Next To You” isn’t his best song by any means, but it’s still great, for a disposable, if chill EDM track. I really like the production here, the synths and percussion are really breezy and help me overlook the repetitiveness here. Yeah, just a great song.

Miley Cyrus - Jaded (#52 CAN)

This isn’t the best song of Miley’s career or even the best song on Endless Summer Vacation - “River” and “Midnight Sky” absolutely should’ve smashed. But “Jaded” is still really damn good. If “Flowers” was about Miley’s positive feelings after a breakup, “Jaded” is about her partner’s negative reaction to it. It’s a very hangover-feeling song, in a good way, but I definitely don’t think this plays to Miley’s strengths, something like “River”, which has a really tight groove, does, though. Yeah, not much else to add, this is just a great song.

Pink - Trustfall (#48 CAN)

I can’t lie, this might be my favorite Pink song...possibly ever? Certainly at least my favorite from her post-2010s. The song’s got possibly her best ever production, with that tight synth groove and Pink proving she can work this sound really well! I mean, sure, call it a 2013 EDM throwback all you want, but this is still excellent. Nice job Pink!!

Rêve - Whitney (#68 CAN)

I’m kinda shocked by how much I really like this haha. Sure, it’s basic EDM that’s right up my alley in the production, with that keyboard melody and a pretty danceable beat, but this track being called “Whitney” in obvious reference to the late Whitney Houston made me fear we were gonna get a song lazily sampling one of Whitney’s songs like Clean Bandit’s awful “How Will I Know”, thankfully, this isn’t the case here, the most this has to do with Whitney Houston is in the chorus where Reve says she wants to sing like her (good luck with that, don’t we all wanna do that lol). Sure, it’s pretty disposable, but I still really like this.

Switch Disco & Ella Henderson - React (#20 UK)

This is just a ton of fun. Ella Henderson has a ton of presence here and does a significant job at pulling this out of “disposable” territory, if anything they make the song...posable, I guess. The production is also really on point too: those piano keys giving this a trance vibe against the slap house beat sound top notch. Yeah, great little song.

TALK - Run Away To Mars (#23 CAN)

I know this is a huge hot take but I really liked this for it sounding other worldly in a bit of a nostalgic way. In that regard, it feels a bit like if “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol was a folk pop song, and given that “Chasing Cars” is an incredible song, that’s a compliment! By this I mean that this and “Chasing Cars” sound pretty melodically similar, though it might be just because they’re both in A Major haha and I also think the lyrics are pretty similar, both songs ask a partner if they were to go/do something/somewhere, would they follow them or honor them in some way? While Gary Lightbody is just laying where he is to escape his problems, Nicholas Durocher is asking his partner if he were to die, would they still think of him. And that contributes to the other-worldly feel of this song. That “3 2 1 I miss you” is absolutely gut-wrenching, and discovering that Durocher wrote this song one night when he was feeling really lonely and depressed actually makes quite a bit of sense. He’s just desperately wondering if he was truly alone or if someone would miss him if he was gone. Wow, I finished this review with an even greater respect for this song than I ever expected. Yeah, great little track, super underrated and overhated.

Tiësto f/Tate McRae - 10:35 (#41 CAN, #37 UK, #25 AUS)

I said it when reviewing THINK LATER, but I definitely like Tate McRae more than I had previously realized. And “10:35” is easily one of her best songs. Tiesto’s production work is superb and allows Tate to fit into it really nicely. Hell, I think the vocal effects actually enhance her performance here!! She doesn’t quite sound so scared here, which was a huge hindering factor for songs like “she’s all i wanna be”, which is a great song, but could’ve easily been excellent if the vocals were better. Fun song!!

Tory Lanez - The Color Violet (#90 CAN, #61 AUS)

The best song I’ve heard from this man by far. Yes, Tory Lanez does sound a lot like Chris Brown at home here, but quite frankly, if Chris Brown is gonna make waste like “Under The Influence” instead of actual quality, I’ll take this for sure. That too, I really like the production here, the 80s inspired synths work really well here for me, yes maybe because it’s in D Major haha and I really like the driving groove here. Plus the saxophone touches sound really damn good here too. Yeah, fuck Tory Lanez, but this is still a great song.

Tyler, The Creator f/Kali Uchis - See You Again (#88 CAN)

This was SO CLOSE to the US YE for 2023, but alas, I’ll have to settle for talking about it here. But honestly, even if it was eligible for my 2023 best list, it likely wouldn’t have made it that high. But this grew on me so much, Tyler’s chemistry with Kali Uchis is really strong and Uchis’s hook is really pretty. But yeah, the main reason this works so well for me is the production, which is genuinely damn near immaculate, the horns sound majestic, the strings are heavenly, and the synth touches add a really pretty edge to Uchis’s hook, which as is is already very pretty. Excellent stuff!

venbee & goddard. - Messy In Heaven (#15 UK)

It feels like there has been a big drum and bass surge over in the UK, and it’s very welcome!! “Messy In Heaven” is a dark drum and bass track with a sticky opening lyric and the dark synths contrasting venbee’s more heavenly vocals really well, creating that “messy in heaven” image in the listener’s mind. Great little song.

And that’s that! My next article will likely come out in the summer, but we’ll see if it comes earlier!! As for what that article is, I’m a bit torn between two options, but until then, you’ve been reading Fire’s Flaming Hot Takes, and I’ll see you!!

Spotify Playlist with every song that was eligible for this list

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