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welcome to watch mojo
and today we're counting down our picks
for the top 10
best songs of 2020
[Music]
for this list we'll be looking at the
best songs that blew up in 2020
even if they were technically released
in some form in 2019
which song do you currently have on a
loop be sure to let us know in the
comments
number 10 breathe deeper tame impala
expectations were sky high for tame
impala's fourth album the slow rush
it was their first in nearly five years
and currents was widely heralded as one
of the greatest albums of the 2010s
even making rolling stones updated list
of the 500 greatest albums of all time
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the slow rush didn't disappoint and
while it's filled with great psychedelic
disco music
breathe deeper is simply magnetic the
inspirations are many
from daft punk to mariah carey to
pharrell and it conveys a feeling of
pure
ecstasy no one else out there is writing
music like team impala
number nine dynamite bts
[Music]
south korean boy band bts is one of the
biggest names in the current music
landscape
and they made their english language
debut with 2020's dynamite
much like breathe deeper dynamite takes
heavy inspiration from 70s disco and
funk
complete with synths horns harmonies and
a pulsing bass line
of course the song is also imbued with
mainstream pop sensibilities
to ensure worldwide radio play
and it was certainly successful in that
regard dynamite became the band's first
number one song in the united states
and the accompanying music videos set
numerous world records
including most viewed youtube video in
24 hours
hitting 101 million their goal was to
bring some happiness to 2020 and it
seems like they succeeded
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number eight cardigan taylor swift
vintage
brand new phone on july 24th
taylor swift surprised the world with
folklore her eighth and arguably best
studio album
written and recorded in quarantine swift
completely does away with her recent pop
bombast
and delivers a delicate and emotional
folk record that both fans and critics
eagerly lapped up
[Music]
it's filled with many great tunes
including exile and cardigan
the latter is particularly beautiful and
critics praised the song's sparse
production of piano and strings
swift's warm vocal performance and the
stunningly beautiful and poignant lyrics
the themes are still very taylor swift
but the songwriting is more mature and
introspective
hopefully this heralds more great things
for swift's career throughout the
upcoming decade
[Music]
number seven say so doja cat
2020 seemed to be the year of the 70s
renaissance
both doja cats say so and the
accompanying music video are steeped in
disco
and it is glorious doja cat saw her
first truly massive single with 2020's
say-so
from the 2019 album hot pink with it
becoming her first number one in america
and going platinum in nine different
countries
the song performed with nicki minaj is a
proud anthem to female sexuality
and is backed by a sexy disco beat the
wild success of the song is a confident
heralding of pop music's next big star
number six i know the end phoebe
bridgers
somewhere in germany but i can't
place it la's phoebe bridgers released
her second studio album punisher in 2020
filled with morose emo folk punisher was
widely acclaimed by critics
and contains both the excellent garden
song and i know the end
also known as one of the best songs of
the entire year
serving as the album's loud and proud
finale i know the end makes a
declarative
statement for punisher's sardonic themes
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the song starts quietly before segueing
into distorted guitars and melancholy
strings
and crescendoing with horn blasts symbol
crashes and haunting screams
it sounds like the apocalypse and it
makes for both terrifying and gorgeous
music
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number five rain on me lady gaga and
ariana grande
it's coming down on me
a collaboration between lady gaga and
ariana grande is just what 2020 needed
both artists released great songs
throughout the year including gaga's
stupid love
and grande's positions but rain on me
proves the best of both artists
the song is empowering urging its
listeners to hold steady and accept
difficult times with confidence and
pride in order to come out a better and
stronger person
[Music]
in many ways it's the defining song of
the chaotic year that was 2020.
positive message aside it's also just a
straight banger from two of the leading
pop artists of our time
it's pure pop enjoyment complete with a
synthy beat from blood pop and
burns grande's typically angelic vocals
and gaga's sense of unimpended fun
it's just the song we needed
number four watermelon sugar harry
[Music]
styles
short and sweet watermelon sugar comes
in at just under three minutes
but contains more enjoyment than some
entire albums
2020 was a great year for harry styles
as both this and adore you enjoyed major
commercial success
watermelon sugar was originally written
back in 2017
but it wasn't released as a single until
may 15th
just in time to be the song of the
summer
[Music]
and song of the summer it was reaching
the top 10 in more than 20 countries
around the world
and becoming styles first number one on
the hot 100.
complete with the summer themed lyrics
and funky production from tyler johnson
and kid harpoon
watermelon sugar much like its titular
fruit proved irresistible in the summer
heat
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number three excess rina sawayama
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this japanese-born british songwriter
released her debut album in 2020
sawayama was widely praised by critics
and filled with some glorious 2000s
nostalgia
perhaps the song most indicative of the
album's success is xs
as described by sawayama herself xs is
about the hypocrisy of capitalism
and selfish consumerism in a
post-climate change world threatening us
with possible extinction
[Music]
to help get the doomed message across
saoyama employs musical sounds and
motifs
from the early 2000s which according to
her
quote reminds you of a time when
everything was all right
it's a fiercely satirical and sharply
critical song
that blends elements of bubble gum pop r
b and crunching guitars
[Music]
number two savage megan the stallion
will forever be that [ __ ]
[ __ ] this track cemented megan the
stallion status is a major mainstream
talent
with the help of a tick-tock trend and
an eventual remix with beyonce
savage shot to the top of the hot 100 in
the spring of 2020.
produced by jay white did it savage
features megan the stallion rapping over
a smooth keyboard
beat i'm a savage classy
ratchet sassy
most of the credit goes to megan's
wrapping and the catchy chorus
as the song proves instantly addictive
the beyonce remix
elevated savage to the stratosphere as
the queen seamlessly rode the beat
reminded us all of her commendable
rapping skills and added some welcomed
flourishes to the track
this is a new funky classic
before we unveil our number one pick
here are a few honorable mentions
good news mac miller this posthumous
release
proved miller's most successful on the
hot 100
gaslighter the chicks the group's first
single in over a decade was a welcome
[Applause]
return
the adults are talking the strokes the
first track on their brilliant album the
new abnormal
[Music]
heavy balloon fiona apple angry and
cacophonous and wonderful
i spray like strawberries i
climb like peas and beans dragon ball
do-rag
thundercat thundercat makes some sexy
funky and hilarious jazz fusion
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[Music]
number one blinding lights the weekend
[Music]
this canadian artist released after
hours at the beginning of the covet era
and it proved just what we needed for
such a tumultuous time
the album is filled with bangers
including the titular epic but the
weeknd
captured the world with blinding lights
released as a single in late 2019
but only achieving massive success in
2020 the song is
dominated by a pulsing and piercing
synth track that introduces elements of
80s new wave to the r
b artist's music
his smooth and sultry voice as the rest
and propelled blinding lights to reach
number one
in 34 countries it also spent a record
31 weeks in the top 5 of the hot 100
indicating the weekend's complete
command of his flourishing fandom
with both a new look and a new sound the
weeknd reinvented himself
in spectacular fashion
[Music]
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