Everybody went into 2021 with the hope that the darkness of 2020 would be truly well behind us, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case and this year turned out to be more of the same. Well, okay, it wasn’t all that bad. But pretty close, though.
This year truly reflected the general mindset that prevailed throughout its twelve months: uncertainty, unrest, anxiety, prolonged gloom. Astoundingly, for the first 34 weeks, the chart saw a new No. 1 song take over. It wasn’t until August, well past the halfway point of the year, when a song stuck around for longer than a week at the summit.
As per usual, this year end list is ranked based on each song’s performance on the POP 21 (formerly Bent*Spun 21) throughout the chart year (from the chart dated January 3, 2021 through to the chart dated December 26, 2021). Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 21 earning the least.
In 2021, only Zuli Jr. was able to place multiple titles in the rankings (2). 9 songs that did not peak at No. 1 during their regular chart run are on this year’s countdown, a number that matches last year’s tally.
Worth a special mention is Saint Motel, whose “It’s All Happening” charted lengthily in 2021 but does not appear on this year end list. The California band’s song from their third LP The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack released this year debuted on the chart dated May 16, 2021 at No. 20 and stayed at its debut position until the chart dated November 7, 2021. That’s a whooping 26 weeks (half a year!!!). A groundbreaking record, for sure, though one that nobody would probably want to write home about.
The year’s top song is the sole track that was able to string more than one week at No. 1 during its regular chart run, which doesn’t appear to be over as of yet.
Find out by clicking on the arrows below.
