Taylor Swift “The Fate of Ophelia” debuted a #1

The Fate of Ophelia Taylor Swift

Writer(s): Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback (see lyrics here) Released: October 3, 2025 First Charted: October 8, 2025 Peak: 18 BB, 16 DG, 17 ST, 14 RR, 4 AC, 14 A40, 17 UK, 110 CN, 16 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.6 UK, 1.41 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 305.07 video, 885.60 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Taylor Swift released her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, in 2025. Like her previous two albums, it created a chart juggernaut upon its release, locking down the entire top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. “The Fate of Ophelia” led the pack, debuting at #1 and giving Swift her twelfth chart-topper. The “stripped-down ballad” NP is a “spiritual sequel” BB’25 to her 2008 hit “Love Story” in which she rewrote Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Here she tackles the bard’s Hamlet. “Instead of country twang [as on ‘Love Story’], she goes for thrillingly exuberant synth-pop.” RS’25 “Instead of the starry-eyed romance…from the perspective of a teenage Taylor…we have an eyes-wide-open heroine who worries that she’s doomed to the tragic fate of Hamlet’s wife.” BB’25 In the play, Ophelia “drowns due to madness fom grief and romantic rejection.” WK Similarly, Swift keeps the lyrical focus of her “Ophelia”squarely on emotional fallout and self-reflection.” NP “We still have the Shakesperean theme front and center” BB’25 as in “Love Story” but here, unlike in the Shakespeare play, “a soulmate…saves Swift from a destiny of death like that of Ophelia.” WK The song features“belt-along lyrics,” BB’25 “muted production and one of Swift’s most restrained vocal performances in years.” NP The song set global records fo the most streamed song on Spotify in a single day as well as its first week. WK The New York Post named it the song of the year. Resources: BB’25 Billboard (12/11/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025: Staff Picks” NP New York Post (12/29/2025). “The 10 best songs of 2025…” by Connor Surmonte RS’25 Rolling Stone (12/4/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025” WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/20/2026.

Chappell Roan “The Subway” hit #1 in UK

The Subway Chappell Roan

Writer(s): Chappell Roan, Dan Nigro (see lyrics here) Released: July 31, 2025 First Charted: August 13, 2025 Peak: 3 BB, 29 A40, 11 UK, 4 CN, 4 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.2 UK, 0.78 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 37.35 video, 256.16 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, known professionally as Chappell Roan, established herself as “pop’s most charismatic enigma” US in 2024 with top-five singles “Good Luck, Babe!” and “Pink Pony Club” on the Billboard Hot 100. The next year, she landed two more top-five hits with “The Giver” and “The Subway.” The latter became her highest-charting single in the U.S., reaching #3. Roan had perfomed the “emotionally devastating song” RS’25 live for more than a year before releasing it as a stand-alone single. RS’25 She was reluctant to release a studio version because she thought it “thrived best in a raw, stage-lit context.” SF The song “spotlights her lyrical potency” US as it “turns an everyday run-in with an ex on the subway into a full-blown emotional spiral.” SF “The writing excels at balancing the moment’s melodrama…with pure comedy” BB’25 on this “sumptuous single” BB’25 in which Roan is “trying to banish the memory of an ex.” BB’25 “The familiar dream-pop production” BB’25 blends “Cocteau Twins melodies and melancholic tinges.” RS’25 It has also been described as “a throwback to the ‘90s jangle-pop of The Cranberries and The Sundays.” US “Roan’s singular vocal performance” BB’25 “aches with heartbreak about a moment that might – or might not have - been meant to be.” US “The Subway” was nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year. Resources: BB’25 Billboard (12/11/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025: Staff Picks” RS’25 Rolling Stone (12/4/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025” SF Songfacts US USAtoday.com (12/17/2025). 10 best songs of 2025, ranked” by Melissa Ruggieri Related Links: First posted 1/18/2026.

Justin Bieber “Daisies” hit #1 in UK

Daisies Justin Bieber

Writer(s): Justin Bieber, Dijon Duenas, Michael Gordon, Eddie Benjamin, Carter Lang, Dylan Wiggins, Daniel Chetrit, Tobias Jesso Jr. (see lyrics here) Released: July 14, 2025 First Charted: July 23, 2025 Peak: 2 BB, 11 ST, 13 RR, 11 AC, 2 A40, 11 UK, 2 CN, 11 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.4 UK, 0.7 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 57.50 video, 527.17 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Justin Bieber was born in 1994 in Canada. He has released seven albums. The first six topped the charts in the United States; 2025’s Swag peaked at #2. The album’s lead single, “Daisies,” gave Bieber his 27th top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It fell just short of the pinnacle, a spot he’d reached eight times. “Daisies” is a “breezy, guitar-leaning” NP “lo-fi pop song.” BB’25 It is a “simmering, understated highlight” RS’25 from Swag. It “marked a softer and more relaxed chapter for Bieber.” NP “Simplicity is king in both the track’s spare guitar-and-drums production and its straightforward lyrics.” BB’25 “There’s no enormous production, no soaring chorus, just a sparse vocal with a pounding slow-burn refrain.” RS’25 “Of Justin Bieber’s many hits, ‘Daisies’ is the first that feels handmade, freed from whatever boardroom decision-making plagued the 31-year-old superstar’s past music. It’s alive and roomy and frayed around the edges, the rare radio smash whose pleasures deepen and develop with time.” PF “Written and produced with indie darlings Dijon and Mk.gee, it sounds both rigorously composed and thrillingly off the cuff, as if it were laid down in an inspired rush on a random summer night. This is the Bieber we need more of: throwing petals and all in his head, crooning horny and heartsick melodies over a virtuoso's dashed-off guitar lick.” PF Resources: BB’25 Billboard (12/11/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025: Staff Picks” NP New York Post (12/29/2025). “The 10 best songs of 2025…” by Connor Surmonte PF Pitchfork.com (12/1/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025” RS’25 Rolling Stone (12/4/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025” Related Links: First posted 1/20/2026.

 

Sabrina Carpenter “Manchild” debuted at #1

Manchild Sabrina Carpenter

Writer(s): Sabrina Carpenter, Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff (see lyrics here) Released: June 5, 2025 First Charted: June 18, 2025 Peak: 11 BB, 11 ST, 11 RR, 13 AC, 3 A40, 12 UK, 2 CN, 2 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.4 UK, 1.47 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 174.93 video, 655.51 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Singer/songwriter Sabrina Carpenter found success as a teenager on the Disney Channel series Girl Meets World before embarking on a music career. She hit the big time with her sixth album, Short n’ Sweet, in 2024. The album reached #1 in the U.S. and many other markets around the world and was certified four times platinum. The album was fueled by three top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including the #1 “Please Please Please.” Her next album, 2025’s Man’s Best Friend, landed Carpenter her second chart-topper with “Manchild.” The “country-tingled” BB’25 song “feels like a sequel to 2024’s ‘Please Please Please’ – in which she’s begging her love interest not to embarrass her – but this time, Sabrina knows exactly what she’s dealing with and still can’t seem to stay away.” BB’25 The “cheeky single” NP is “upbeat and playful,” BB’25 “a glimpse inside the deeply hilarious and very sharp mind of Sabrina Carpenter.” RS’25 She had “built a reputation for her tongue-in-cheek songwriting, and she puts her winking chops to excellent use” BB’25 on what Rolling Stone called an “ABBA rodeo jam.” RS’25 She “writes with characteristic wit about…knowing a man is emotionally stunted but still caring enough to sing a whole song about him.” PF “Manchild” “cemented her position in the pop penthouse.” BB’25 It “proved the success of Short n’ Sweet wasn’t just a one-off, and that this five-foot-tall innuendo-loving pop star will be here for a while.” RS’25 The song received Grammy nominations for Song and Record of the Year. Resources: BB’25 Billboard (12/11/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025: Staff Picks” NP New York Post (12/29/2025). “The 10 best songs of 2025…” by Connor Surmonte PF Pitchfork.com (12/1/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025” RS’25 Rolling Stone (12/4/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025” Related Links: First posted 1/19/2026.

Tate McRae “Sports Car” released

 

Sports Car Tate McRae

Writer(s): Tate McRae, Julia Michaels, Ryan Tedder, Grant Boutin (see lyrics here) Released: January 24, 2025 First Charted: February 5, 2025 Peak: 16 BB, 11 RR, 11 A40, 3 UK, 9 CN, 8 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.6 UK, 1.92 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 77.13 video, 697.91 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Singer/songwriter and dancer Tate McRae was born in Canada in 2003. In 2016, she was a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance. She charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2020 with “You Broke Me First” (#16). She released her first album, I Used to Think I Could Fly, in 2022. Her next album, 2023’s Think Later, gave McRae her biggest hit yet with “Greedy” (#3, Billboard Hot 100). Her next album, 2025’s So Close to What, sent three songs into Billboard’s top 40. The most successful was “Sports Car” (#16), a “blunt message here is that there are few greater pleasure enhancers than a fat wallet, particularly if you can uh-uh in its spoils.” PF “Her minimalist sex song of tire squeaks, engine revs, and ASMR-whispered findom demands.” PF It “might be the most emblematic of her skill set as a modern hitmaker: a slick, combustible banger that translates to both top 40 radio and a choreo-heavy arena show. McRae stays comfortable with her flirtatious cooing in the opening chorus, then drops the hammer: a whisper chorus, both audacious and undeniable.” BB’25 “Sports Car” shares the “hyper-sexual” RS’25 quality of the Ying Yang Twins’ “Wait (The Whisper Song),” released two decades earlier. “Sports Car” also “has a whisper chorus…and plenty of her own horny lines – most memorably ‘So good it hurts / Thinkin’ ’bout what we did before this verse.’ Sonically, it echoes Y2K pop like Nelly Furtado and Britney Spears, but with a fresh update.” RS’25 Resources: BB’25 Billboard (12/11/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025: Staff Picks” PF Pitchfork.com (12/1/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025” RS’25 Rolling Stone (12/4/2025). “The 100 Best Songs of 2025” Related Links: First posted 1/19/2026.

Owl City “Fireflies” hit #1

Fireflies Owl City

Writer(s): Adam Young (see lyrics here) Released: July 14, 2009 First Charted: August 22, 2009 Peak: 12 BB, 14 DG, 2 RR, 11 AC, 11 A40, 23 AA, 27 MR, 13 UK, 2 CN, 15 AU, 16 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 1.8 UK, 13.14 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.2 radio, 653.53 video, 1106.42 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Owl City is Adam Young, an introverted and sincere Christian who was born in Iowa and mostly raised in the small, remote Minnesota town of Owatonna.” SG As Owl City, Adam Young “bypassed the whole club-circuit/blog-buzz system” SG by recording songs in his parents’ basement and posting them on MySpace. He “eventually found DIY digital distribution through CD Baby,” SG releasing an EP in 2007 and an album the next year. Republic Records noticed his success and signed him. They released his album, Ocean Eyes, in 2009. They “put some marketing muscle” SG into promoting the lead single, “Fireflies.” It “picked up steam over a few months. It got play on different radio formats: rock, adult contemporary, eventually pop. The Christian-music world loved it. Young became a bit of a heartthrob for a certain type of sensitive teenage fan.” SG Young said “Fireflies” “was inspired partly by his chronic insomnia and partly by the fireflies and shooting stars that he saw over a lake in northern Minnesota when he was on a camping trip. When he was having trouble sleeping one night, Young got to thinking: What if fireflies were shooting stars?” SG One might suspect they fireflies are metaphors, but instead it appears Young wants listeners to actually believe he “gets 1,000 hugs from 10,000 lightning bugs as they teach him how to dance.” SG Young sings “in a mind-blown inside-voice coo that strives for Ben Gibbard swooniness and falls way short. Nobody should try to imitate Ben Gibbard’s voice. Even Gibbard himself can’t do it convincingly half the time. Adam Young’s instrumental track, on the other hand, is light and crisp and bubbly.” SG “Young really had something with that backing track. It’s too bad he decided to sing ‘Fireflies’ over it.” SG Resources: SG Stereogum (5/31/2023). “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan Related Links: First posted 1/22/2026.

Miley Cyrus “The Climb” charted

The Climb Miley Cyrus

Writer(s): Jessi Alexander, Jon Mabe (see lyrics here) Released: March 5, 2009 First Charted: February 15, 2009 Peak: 4 BB, 5 RR, 115 AC, 5 A40, 25 CW, 11 UK, 5 CN, 5 AU, 13 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 1.2 UK, 9.26 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.3 radio, 654.99 video, 822.92 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Singer/songwriter and actress Destiny Hope “Miley” Cyrus was born in 1992 in Tennessee. She was born into fame as the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. As a young teen, she found success as the star of Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel. While on the show, she released music under her own name and the Hannah Montana identity. In 2009, she starred in Hannah Montana: The Movie which produced her biggest hit to date, the top-five hit “The Climb.” The country-pop power ballad was nominated for a Grammy for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media but was withdrawn from consideration because it hadn’t been specifically written for the film. Jessi Alexander came up with the melody while diving to his songwiting partner Jon Mabe’s house. Mabe developed it into a “song about overcoming life’s obstacles inspired by their personal struggles in the music industry.” WK The song was rejected by several country artists before Peter Chelsom, the director of the Hannah Montana movie, picked it up. He asked them to adapt the song so it would fit the movie. WK He thought the song “turned up the film’s music level by tapping into Cyrus’s newfound vocal range.” WK The filmmakers told the songwriters, “This is perfect for Miley. It’s gonna change her life, gonna change your life.” WK The song was woven into the movie as a moment when Miley writes a song addressing her frustrations in leading a double life as the pop star Hannah Monana and her real identity as Miley Stewart. WK Resources: WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/24/2026.