Sean’s Top 100 Songs of 2023

My personal No. 1 song of 2023 won’t be hard for Ross on Radio readers or friends to guess. I first wrote about “Blame Brett” by the Beaches in June, noting how a new song by a band I liked had gone from OK to something more after hearing it on the radio, reinforcing the importance of airplay. Since then, it’s been a regular feature on my Big Hits Energy playlist.

“Blame Brett” was still the No. 1 Alternative record in Canada when legendary CKLW Detroit MD Rosalie Trombley was honored in September. Most of the former staffers in attendance had cheerfully moved on from current music. It was great to be able to tell them about a song that would have fit on CK in its last CHR moments 40 years ago. 

At one time, “Blame Brett” would have come to America via CKLW’s sister station, CIMX (89X) and through Buffalo. In the absence of a border blaster chart reporter, it instead made the leap from SiriusXM’s Canadian rock channel The Verge to its Alt.Nation (and TikTok Radio) and then to Audacy’s Alternative stations. It currently sits at No. 20, without the support of the format’s other major groups. “Brett” would sound great at Top 40, but the band hasn’t even sought that in Canada.

I culled the Top 100 songs of 2022 from about 150 titles; there were slightly fewer this year, but I still edited it down only to 115 songs. As usual, I’ve made a playlist as well.

The Top Tier

• Amy Shark, “Can I Shower at Yours?”
• Beaches, “Blame Brett”
• Beatles, “Now and Then”—have tried not to make it more than what it is, but sounds better each time
• Bruce Cockburn, “Orders”—if you seek out only one song from this list, listen to this song for our times from an artist you may not have thought of in some time
• Charlotte Cardin, “Confetti”—in Canada, it’s like “Flowers,” a hit that won’t die even as the follow-up(s) ascend. An artist radio needs, coming to the U.S. next year
• Conan Grey, “Never Ending Song”
• Daisy Jones & the Six, “Regret Me”—even without this TV series, there would have been a lot of Faux-wood Mac on this list
• Doechii, “What It Is (Block Boy)—a better year for tempo and R&B crossover
• Doja Cat, “Paint the Town Red”
• Dua Lipa, “Houdini”
• Everyone You Know, “Coming With You”
• Iskwe f/Nina Hagen, “I Get High”
• Noah Kahan, “Dial Drunk”
• Olivia Rodrigo, “Bad Idea Right?”
• Olivia Rodrigo, “Get Him Back”
• Rolling Stones, “Angry”
• Taylor Swift, “Cruel Summer”
• Taylor Swift, “Karma”
• Tiera Kennedy, “Jesus, My Mama, My Therapist”

Radio Songs (Somewhere, on Some Format)

• Amy Shark, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”—the Kylie Minogue song, from a Mushroom Records anniversary tribute album
• BBY, “Hotline”
• Bebe Rexha, “Heart Wants What It Wants”
• Blue Stones, “Don’t Miss”
• Boygenius, “Not Strong Enough”
• Burna Boy f/21 Savage, “Sitting on Top of the World”
• Charli XCX, “Speed Drive”—I’m usually hard on “Mickey” derivatives
• Charlotte Cardin, “99 Nights”
• Cole Swindell, “Drinkaby”
• Dominic Fike, “Mona Lisa”
• Drew Holcomb & Neighbors, “Find Your People”
• Dua Lipa, “Dance the Night”
• Dustin Lynch, “Stars Like Confetti”
• Guy Sebastian, “I Chose Good”
• Jamie Fine, “If Anything’s Left”
• Jason Isbell & 400 Unit, “Death Wish”
• Jax Jones f/Calum Scott, “Whistle”
• Jenny Lewis, “Psychos”
• Jon Batiste, “Calling Your Name”
• Jonas Brothers, “Waffle House”
• Kelsea Ballerini, “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)
• Kid Laroi, Jung Kook, Central Cee, “Too Much”
• Kylie Minogue, “Tension”
• Lainey Wilson, “Watermelon Moonshine”
• Last Dinner Party, “Nothing Matters”
• Lauren Daigle, “Turbulent Skies”
• Lovely the Band, “Sail Away”
• Low Cut Connie, “Are You Gonna Run?”
• Lu Kala, “Pretty Girl Era”
• Mae Muller, “I Wrote a Song”
• Mae Stephens, “If We Ever Broke Up”
• Maxine Ashley, “Somebody Else”—gets “flip of the year” award for rewriting the Jones Girls
• Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”
• Moss, “The Place That Makes Me Happy”
• Nicki Minaj, “Last Time I Saw You”
• October London, “Back to Your Place”
• Old Dominion, “Memory Lane”
• Olivia Lunny, “Timezone”
• Olivia Rodrigo, “Vampire”
• Paul Russell, “Lil Boo Thang”
• Post Malone, “Chemical”
• Post Malone, “Enough is Enough”
• Rema f/Selena Gomez, “Calm Down”—normally wouldn’t qualify, but I somehow didn’t include it in 2022 
• Revivalists, “Good Old Days”
• Rosalia f/Rauw Alejandro, “Beso”
• Sam Roberts Band, “Picture of Love”
• Selena Gomez, “Single Soon”
• Take That, “Windows”
• Tame Impala, “Wings of Time”
• Tate McRae, “Exes”
• Tate McRae, “Greedy”
• Texas King, “Whatever You Break”
• Troye Sivan, “Rush”
• Tyla, “Water”
• Zach Bryan f/Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything”

Did You Hear?

• Anne-Marie, “Sad Bitch”—a short-lived lyrical controversy in the UK
• Belinda Carlisle, “Big Big Love”
• Belle & Sebastian, “I Don’t Know What You See in Me”
• Billy Porter, “Baby Was a Dancer”
• Brandon Maddox, “If You’re Talking Behind My Back”
• Busted f/Jonas Brothers, “Year 3000”
• Caroline Polachek, “Welcome to My Island”
• Charlie Wilson, “Superman”
• Cher, “Angels in the Snow”—liked this best from her Christmas album, and it’s a lyric that could be played in winter, not just Christmas’’
• Coterie f/Sir Dave Dobbyn, “Slice of Heaven”—reworking of one of New Zealand’s all-time hits
• Cowboy Junkies, “Hard to Build, Easy to Break”
• Daisy Jones & the Six, “Aurora”
• Daisy the Great, “Looking U Up”
• Daves Highway, “First Rodeo”
• Devon Cole, “1-800-GOT-STRESS”
• Doja Cat, “Can’t Wait”
• Dominic Fike, “Hey Blondie”
• Dunne Brothers, “Look Me in the Eye”
• Fefe Dobson, “Hungover”
• Fionn, “Take Me Out!”’
• Hotboy Ronald, “Make Me Hot”
• Iggy Azelea, “Money Come”—as with a number of flips, a great sample helps
• Indiana Drones, “Someone Else”
• Iskwe, “End of It All” 
• Kool & the Gang, “Let’s Party”
• Last Dinner Party, “Sinner” 
• Lenny Williams, “She Took My Drawers”—an odd third act for the Tower of Power frontman turned Southern Soul artist
• Lola Brooke, “Just Relax”
• Maisie Peters, “Body Better”
• Maisie Peters, “Lost the Breakup”
• Maisie Peters, “You’re Just a Boy (and I’m Kinda the Man)”
• Martin Solveig f/Stefflon Don, “I Don’t Wanna Work”
• Miley Cyrus f/Sia, “Muddy Feet”
• Navvy, “’Till You’re Ready”
• New Pornographers, “Really Really Light”
• Nines, “Calendar”
• Oliver Heldens f/Kylie Minogue, “10 Out of 10”
• Ozark Mountain Daredevils, “Jackie Blue 2”—reworked with a female vocalist
• Paloma Faith, “How You Leave a Man”
• Reneé Rapp, “Talk Too Much”
• Rodney Crowell, “Lucky”
• Samia, “Honey”
• Saweetie, “Shot O’Clock”
• Strumbellas, “Hold Me”
• Taylor Swift, “I Can See You” 
• Texas, “After All”
• Texas, “Keep on Talkin’”
• Tonique & Man, “Never Get Old”
• Tyga, “Day One”