DavesMusicDatabase.com is devoted to ranking, rating, and reviewing music of all genres and eras. The DMDB blog serves up album and song reviews, best-of lists, music history snapshots, and music-related essays.
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 | Music VF:Songs of the Year, 1900-2025 |
Music VF is an online database of more than 120,000 U.S. and UK chart hits. One can search for top songs and artists by year and by decade. Here are the top songs of each year according to Music VF: Check out other “songs of the year” lists here.
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First posted 4/8/2019; last updated 12/31/2025. |
 | 7 RingsAriana Grande |
Writer(s): Ariana Grande, Victoria Monét, Tayla Parx, Njomza Vitia, Kimberly Krysiuk, Tommy Brown, Michael Foster, Charles Anderson, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II (see lyrics here) Released: January 18, 2019 First Charted: February 2, 2019 Peak: 18 US, 16 RR, 12 BA, 13 DG, 18 ST, 14 A40, 14 UK, 18 CN, 15 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 9.0 US, 1.2 UK, 13.95 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1520.00 video, 2232.18 streaming |
Awards:Click on award for more details. 
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About the Song:“7 Rings” was the second single from Ariana Grande’s fifth studio album, Thank U, Next. Like the lead single, the album’s title cut, “& Rings” debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100. She was the fourth artist – following Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, and Drake – to have more than one song debut at #1. It spent eight non-consecutive weeks on top and topped the charts in 19 countries. With nearly 15 million plays on Spotify within its first 24 hours of release, the song set the single-day record for streams. SF Grande describes the trap-pop, R&B, and rap song as “a friendship anthem” which evolved from her previous single, “Thank U, Next.” WK She tweeted that the song grew out of a “pretty rough day” following her split with comedian Pete Davidson. She and six friends went to Tiffany’s for retail therapy and she bought them all matching rings. She took the advice of one of the friends to turn her feelings into music and wrote “7 Rings” that afternoon. SF Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos called the song “dangerously fun.” WK Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos referred to Grande’s vocals as “smooth and crystalline with a retro vibe.” WK On the flip side, The Atlantic’s Spencer Kornhaber called the song “cartoonish and imitative.” WK The song incorporates the melody of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. To get the record released, Republic Records (Grande’s record company) agreed to give Image/Concord Music, the company holding the publishing rights to Rodgers & Hammerstein, 90% of the songwriting royalties. WK Resources:Related Links:
Last updated 5/3/2024. |
 | Dave’s Music Database:Top 50 Songs of 2018 |
These are the top 50 songs of the year based on their overall performance in Dave’s Music Database, which is determined by combining chart data, sales figures, streaming, video views, and aggregates from year-end lists. Check out “Top Songs and Albums of the Year” lists here.
DMDB Top 1%:
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First posted 12/26/2021; last updated 1/17/2023. |
 | Thank U, NextAriana Grande |
Writer(s): Ariana Grande, Charles Anderson, Michael Foster, Tayla Parx, Tommy Brown, Victoria McCants (see lyrics here) Released: November 3, 2018 First Charted: November 17, 2018 Peak: 17 US, 11 RR, 12 DG, 17 ST, 22 AC, 7 A40, 16 UK, 18 CN, 16 AU, 16 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 1.2 UK, 8.09 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1218.0 video, 1718.67 streaming |
Awards:Click on award for more details.
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About the Song:“Thank U, Next” was the lead single and title track from Ariana Grande’s fifth studio album. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It hit #1 in fourteen other countries as well. It was her first chart-topper in the U.S. after she’d previously peaked at #2 with “Problem” in 2014. The pop and R&B song is Grande’s reflection on past relationships, specifically with Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez, Pete Davidson, and Mac Miller. Rather than being a vengeful attack, “she expresses gratitude to her exes for having helped her to find herself.” SF She explained that the song was about a new chapter in her life which encompasses “gratitude, growth, embracing our paths bumps n’ all.” SF Taylor Parx, one of the song’s co-writers, said the song was inspired by Jane Fonda in Five Acts, an HBO documentary which had a chapter for each man she’d been with and “Jane” as the final chapter. SF The song was praised for its catchiness and positive message. Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos called it an “ode to gratitude, an anthem to a fresh start and new beginnings, where she is not afraid to be raw and vulnerable.” WK Pitchfork’s Quinn Moreland commended Grande for finding “the value in letting go” instead of stirring “the pot about her recent breakup.” WK Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos said the song is “about wanting to better yourself.” WK The video pays homage to movies Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, Bring It On, and 13 Going on 30. It became the most-watched video in a 24-hour period on YouTube with more than 55 million views. WK It also broke the record for most simultaneous streams (829,000) when it debuted. SF “Thank U, Next” was nominated for MTV Video of the Year. Resources:Related Links:
First posted 4/1/2021; last updated 7/22/2023. |
