Alex Warren “Ordinary” hit #1

Ordinary Alex Warren

Writer(s): Alexander Hughes, Adam Yaron, Cal Shapiro, Mags Duval (see lyrics here) Released: February 7, 2025 Peak: 110 BB, 123 BA, 112 DG, 14 ST, 116 RR, 5 AC, 126 A40, 112 UK, 19 CN, 112 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 1.8 UK, 7.04 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 429.19 video, 1452.96 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Singer/songwriter Alex Warren was born in 2000 in California. He started making YouTube videos at 10 years old, reaching more than 2.6 million subscribers by 2022. By 2024, he had over 16.3 million followers on TikTok. He started writing songs at age 13, releasing his debut single “One More I Love You” in 2021. He signed a record deal with Atlantic Records the next year. WK1 He also became part of a Netflix reality series in 2022 that focused on him and his songwriting collective that lived in a house together in Los Angeles. VY He finally found chart success with his tenth single, “Before You Leave Me,” in 2024. It was the first of eight singles from his debut album, You’ll Be Alright, Kid, to chart in the UK. However, it ws the sixth single, “Ordinary,” that made Warren into a global superstar. The song topped the charts in 29 countries, including the UK and the United States. WK2 The song is “a sweeping, heartfelt pop anthem that explores the transformative power of love.” SF “Warren’s luminous voice and lit-from-within songcraft contribute to an unmistakable hit in which…[he] seems able to leap from unutterable sadness to unmitigated joy.” VY The song was influenced by his relationship with Kouvr Annon, who he married in 2024. SF She stuck with him, even when that meant sleeping in his car with him when he was homeless. SF Despite its success with fans, critics panned the song for “its unoriginality and formulaic nature.” WK2 Paste magazine said the song sounded like “someone fed Imagine Dragons’ entire discography into ChatGPT.” WK2 Vulture said the song’s lyrics “wouldn’t make it out of a high-school creative writing class.” WK2 The New Yorker’s Sheldon Pearce said it was “destined to be played at dentist’s offices and wedding receptions fom now until the end of time.” WK2 Resources: SF Songfacts VY A.D. Amorosi (5/21/2025). Variety.com “Alex Warren on Getting Exraordinary Results Out of ‘Ordinary’…” WK1 Wikipedia page on “Alex Warren” WK2 Wikipedia page on “Ordinary” Related Links: First posted 12/31/2025.

Miley Cyrus “Flowers” debuted at #1

Flowers Miley Cyrus

Writer(s): Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein, Michael Pollack (see lyrics here) Released: January 12, 2023 First Charted: January 28, 2023 Peak: 18 BB, 118 BA, 15 DG, 14 ST, 110 RR, 157 AC, 117 A40, 110 UK, 115 UK, 112 AU, 10 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 1.8 UK, 16.23 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1097.22 video, 2563.81 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Flowers” became the biggest hit of Miley Cyrus’s career. It was her second time to ascend to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, following “Wrecking Ball” a decade earlier. When she first topped the charts, she was 21 years old but already a veteran of the music industry. She starred in the Disney TV series Hannah Montana from 2006 to 2011, playing a pop star who maintains a secret identity as a more normal person. In the real world, she started collecting hits under the “Hannah Montana” banner but then launched her career as Miley Cyrus, achieving success with “Party in the U.S.A.” (#2, 2009), “The Climb” (#4, 2009), and eventually the #1 hit “Wrecking Ball” in 2013. As of this writing, 2023’s “Flowers” was her tenth of eleven top-10 hits. “Flowers,” the lead single from her eight studio album Endless Summer Vacation, topped the charts in 38 countries WK and became the fastest song in Spotify history to reach one billion streams (112 days). WK It won Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. The lyrics follow the protaganist’s efforts after a breakup to celebrate her independence and realize she is responsible for her own happiness. They make reference to her real-life relationship with actor Liam Hemsworth, who she married in 2018 and divorced in 2020. The song interpolates the melody from Gloria Gaynor’s 1978 women’s empowerment anthem “I Will Survive” WK and adapts some of the lyrics from Bruno Mars’ 2013 chart-topper “When I Was Your Man.” SF Consequence.com’s Mary Siroky said “Flowers” sounds like “if the hazy, peaceful California tone of ‘Malibu’ were to be applied to a dance pop track.” WK The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis compared the song’s “shimmering electric guitar and understated yacht-rock mood” to Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 classic album Rumours. WK Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/2/2024; last updated 6/15/2025.