Though The Bias List is first and foremost a K-pop review blog, each month I spotlight a handful of “global pop” tracks that have been on my playlist. This culminates in a countdown of my favorite forty tracks of 2023.
This year, I’m doing things a little differently. Rather than focus solely on singles, I’ve decided to expand eligibility to any song released within the year. Because of this, I’ve also decided to limit each artist to a maximum of three songs on the countdown. Otherwise, a few albums would certainly dominate.
Because I don’t have as many chance to focus on global pop, I’m also including my longlist of songs that didn’t quite make the cut. Some artists are heavily represented here!
Read on for the the first half of this year’s countdown: songs number forty to twenty-one!
The Longlist (in alphabetical order):
Arwin – More Than Just A Feeling
Ava Max – Sleepwalker
Ava Max – Ghost
Ava Max – Get Outta My Heart
Ava Max – Choose Your Fighter
Ava Max – Hold Up (Wait A Minute)
Ava Max – One Of Us
Bebe Rexha – Visions (Don’t Let Go)
Bebe Rexha – Blue Moon
Benjamin – Minä-Minä-Maa
Bingo Players – Static Body (ft. Peyruis & Marlene)
Bonnie Mckee – Hot City
Calvin Harris – Desire (ft. Sam Smith)
Darin – Behöver inte nån
Drew Sycamore – In The Club
Dua Lipa – Houdini
Ellie Goulding – By The End Of The Night
Ellie Goulding – Like A Saviour
Ellie Goulding – Cure For Love
Gunship – Tastes Like Venom
Gunship – Empress Of The Damned (ft. Lights)
Gunship – Run For Your Life
Gunship – Tech Noir 2 (ft. John Carpenter & Charlie Simpson)
Jake Shears – Really Big Deal
Jonas Blue – Finally (ft. Rani)
The Killers – Your Side Of Town
Kim Petras – uh oh
Kim Petras – Castle In The Sky
Kylie Minogue – Padam Padam
Kylie Minogue – Tension
Julia Alfrida – Like A Bass
Madison Rose – Girls Girls Girls
Neea River – Love Me Out Of Lonely
Oscar Zia – Heartbreakmiljonär
Pink – Runaway
Purple Disco Machine – Something On My Mind
Rêve – Breaking Up With Jesus
Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Breaking The Circle
Switch Disco – React (ft. Robert Miles & Ella Henderson)
Tove Lo – I Like U
twst – Catch Me (Beautiful Fall)
WayV – On My Youth
40. Addison Rae – I Got It Bad
This is like 2000-era Britney updated for our current pop climate.
39. Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha
Definitely one of the most colorful songs on this year’s countdown!
38. Dagny – Same Again (For Love)
Just a brilliant, classic pop melody.
37. Neea River – Cyanide
Powerful synthpop with a killer vocal.
36. Portion Boys – Samaa Taivasta Katsotaan
Utterly bonkers, but so addicting and so much fun.
35. Ollie Wride – Victoria
Stately synth-powered rock with strong nods to the 80’s.
34. Kylie Minogue – You Still Get Me High
Moody verses give way to an incredibly rousing chorus.
33. Ava Max – Cold As Ice
An excellent iteration of Ava Max’s high-drama dance pop.
32. Bebe Rexha – Call On Me
Pumping EDM meets country-inspired vocals for a dynamic highlight.
31. Zara Larsson – Can’t Tame Her
Super catchy, synth-driven dance pop with an effusive chorus.
30. Gustaph – Because Of You
90’s house music filtered through Eurovision’s colorful prism.
29. Alessandra – Pretty Devil
Sledgehammer electronic production powers this explosive anthem.
28. Purple Disco Machine – Bad Company
80’s freestyle merges with modern production for an irresistable club track.
27. Studio Killers – Underneath My Raincoat
This quirky act returned from years of hiatus with a song as fresh as ever.
26. The Weeknd – Popular (ft. Madonna & Playboi Carti)
An unlikely trio, but an undeniable series of hooks underlined by brittle hip-hop funk production.
25. Troye Sivan – Rush
A high energy summer hit with euphoric energy.
24. Gunship – Monster In Paradise (ft. Milkie Way, Dave Lombardo & Tyler Bates)
A synth-rock epic that nods directly toward the very best of 80’s music.
23. September – Ocean Of Love
A very welcome return, this blissful banger is a total joy bomb.
22. Bebe Rexha – Satellite (ft. Snoop Dogg)
Repurposing early-2010’s Katy Perry pop for a new audience, Satellite is cheesy funk brilliance.
21. Calvin Harris – Miracle (ft. Ellie Goulding)
A mainstream trance hit in 2023! Let’s keep these coming.