The Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 2019

I know, I know. I'm back with another set of worst and best lists because I don't have anything better to do than criticize lame, vapid pop music or heap praise onto genius artistry. All that being said, WE'RE BACK BABY. This time, I've decided to tackle one of the stronger years in music history in 2019. After the abysmal music year that was 2018, 2019 was a breath of fresh air for so many people. 2019 was the first year I really knew ANY pop music, and it was pretty clear why. The best offerings from this year are some of the best we've ever heard. But, what about the bad music? Well, there was some pretty awful stuff this year, too, so this should be an interesting list.

I'm not going to keep you too long with the intro. You know my rules. Anything that charted in the Top 50 of the Hot 100 is eligible for this list, with some exceptions if I so please. I'm somewhat lenient on this if a song is viral enough (as shown by my inclusion of "Life Goes On" by Oliver Tree in my 2021 worst list), but there are very few situations that call for that. Now, without further adieu, it's time for me to go on another massive rant about music in...

#10.

I suppose it's only right we start off this list with one of our thumbnail artists. A man who has been a plague on his genre for so long that I don't know if anything can keep him from having success, especially due to how hardcore his fanbase is. It's a shame, too, because this artist has never really had a high quality to his music, but has still had hits throughout the years despite a reprehensible track record in his personal life. I don't attribute that to this song being here, though. What I do attribute it to is the fact that this artist, despite all his success, does not know how to make music.

10. No Guidance - Chris Brown (feat. Drake)

Chris Brown is a pathetic excuse of an artist, and an even more pathetic excuse of a human being. Clearly that hasn't stopped so many people from liking him, so I've just kind of accepted that we're never getting rid of him. Doesn't mean I have to like it. "No Guidance" isn't his worst song but it might be his most nothing song. I get nothing from listening to this. It's one of the blandest, most boring songs I've ever heard in my entire life. Listening to this in preparation for writing my lists, I honestly forgot I even had music playing it was that devoid of material. I suppose it's above average for both of these artists, but that's such a low bar that you could slide a tortilla under it.  

The production on this song is very basic. The percussion sounds cheap, the synths are mediocre, and the constant clanging you hear in the background gets annoying after 20 seconds. It's not terrible by any means, but the artists involved do nothing to compensate for the lack of quality here. Chris Brown continues to be awful at singing, and his voice has this weird effect on it that goes in and out of usage throughout the entire song. Drake sounds like Drake normally does, and by that I mean he sounds like he'd rather be asleep. Gosh, this is so boring. It makes me want to watch pay-per-view ads while reading an IKEA manual. 

The entire premise of this song is that there is this girl, and either Chris or Drake (I'm not sure about the dynamic here) really likes her, but doesn't want to "play any games". Drake mentions something about her leaving home at 17 (I would not be mentioning an age of under 18 if I was you, Aubrey) while Chris says he may "f*ck around and give you my last name". Once again, people, marriage is not a joke. Please quit treating it like one.

This isn't your typical bad song. It's bad because there's absolutely nothing to it, and the lack of substance makes it worse by proxy. I respect songs that have the ambition to just suck. This didn't have any ambition. This is two spoiled, rich buzzkills putting in zero effort because they know that they don't have to for their success to continue. The title "No Guidance" fits because it seems like no one gave either of these two guidance on how to make good music. Maybe you need it.

#9.

Taylor Swift is the most beloved pop star of our generation. It's been that way for a while now, and I get it. She's made a lot of great songs over her career, and clearly has the talent as a songwriter and a singer that draws people in. There's one thing about Taylor that's always confused me, though. For every good song she writes, there will likely be a bad one. For every "Blank Space" there's a "Look What You Made Me Do". For every "Style" there's a "Shake It Off". For every "Cruel Summer", there's a "Fortnight" (I think you get the gist by now). In 2019, there was no yin to the yang, unfortunately.

9. ME! - Taylor Swift (feat. Brendon Urie)

I seriously have absolutely no idea what Taylor was aiming for here. I mean, I do; she wanted a pop hit. I just don't understand why this is the route she decided to take. A smug, arrogant song about how there's nobody like her? Dressed in this coat of pretty colors that are clearly trying to overcompensate for how dark and dreary Reputation was, it comes across as very obnoxious. It's commercial-core, which makes sense considering how many commercials I had to stomach that featured this song, and it just got worse over time.

It's funny that a song called "ME!" has a featured artist, but she recruits Panic! at the Disco's Brendon Urie. That clash is honestly kind of funny, but it doesn't do anything to salvage the song. I also don't think the percussion in the verses is very good, and the horns sound very phony.  Is the production bad enough to get it on the list? Not really, but the cringe-worthiness of the lyrics does enough to push it over the top. Seriously, "Hey kids, spelling is fun!"? What were you even trying to go for here??? 

"ME!" is easily one of Taylor Swift's worst songs. It's a song that I describe as "playground-core". It sounds like the popular girl in 5th grade tried to create an anthem to just how awesome she is, but it's so disjointed that it makes her seem like a 40-year-old soccer mom. This isn't the most embarrassing thing she's ever done, considering "Look What You Made Me Do" exists, but it does strike me as pathetic. "You can't spell awesome without me" and "No there ain't no I in team, but you know there is a me" are some of the stupidest lyrics I've ever heard and, while they're technically true, come across as egotistical due to the person singing it. Taylor Swift is the biggest artist in the world. Everyone knows who she is. We didn't need a song about the richest pop star in the world bragging about how awesome she is. 

As I said in the introduction, for every good song she has, she has a bad one. While I said there was no yin to the yang in 2019, that isn't true. "Cruel Summer" did come out in 2019 and was soooo much better than this. Why couldn't that have been the lead single for Lover? Instead, we get a disjointed mess whose music video is one of the worst I've ever seen, and something that is so genuinely cringy and corny that it makes me want to puke. Not the worst song she's ever made, but it's one I could certainly live without.

#8.

I've watched Todd in the Shadows for a long time, and he's the one who inspired me to make these lists. In his worst lists, he features a song as a transition between entries. For 2024, it was Jelly Roll's "I Am Not Okay", which was an interesting choice that I thought worked well. My personal favorite usage of this was in 2022, when he used GAYLE's "Abcdefu" and eventually played into it being an actual entry on the list. Why am I bringing this up? Well, I know literally nothing about this song other than the fact that it was the 2019 transition music for Todd's worst list, so I just rolled with it. The other song here was on that worst list, but I have very little to say about it, so we're just gonna plug these two together and hope for the best. 

8A. Leave Me Alone - Flipp Dinero

8B. Worth It - YK Osiris

"Leave Me Alone" is a chore to listen to. Flipp Dinero sounds like he's got like 6 nickels stuck in his throat at every given moment throughout the song, and the production is mediocre at best, making that lack of vocal talent really come through. In all honestly, I'm wondering how this became a hit to begin with. This dude has the most obnoxious voice I've heard in rap music since like... Kodak Black. That is rough. Funnily enough, he mentions Kodak Black in the song, but I wouldn't have been able to tell you that without looking up the lyrics. I genuinely can't understand what he's saying half the time, other than the title line, which he spreads the syllables out so much that it's unbearable. 

Apparently this got big from Odell Beckham, Jr. dancing to it in an Instagram video during his tenure with the Cleveland Browns. Leave it to Cleveland to make a song that absolutely should not have been a hit into one. Odell, are you serious, man? This is the kind of stuff you bump to nowadays? No wonder your career fell off to the point where you can barely even crack the roster of the Dolphins. Hope it was worth it.

The other song in this duality is YK Osiris' breakthrough hit "Worth It", which is what "Earned It" by the weeknd would sound like if Abel forgot how to breathe. Osiris' voice is just as irritating as Flipp Dinero's is, and that comes across the second you hear him sing the opening line. The sentiment of this song is irritating to me, seeing as YK fails to provide any reason why he would be worth it, and doesn't really give us any clue as to what "worth it" means in this situation.  I'd probably say this is the better of the two songs, considering the guitar solo at the end is actually pretty good, but it isn't enough to overcome how much I just cannot stand how he sounds. 

Neither of these two artists did anything after this. YK Osiris appeared on a DaBaby song and was on a track with Christian rapper Lecrae, but it didn't lead to any future success. Meanwhile, Flipp Dinero hasn't released anything since 2020, so I doubt he makes a comeback any time soon. I guess the "voice of a guy with 6 nickels in his throat" gimmick didn't really work out for any of these two. Good.

#7.

You might think I put this song in this spot just because of its title. While that is true, it is also a genuinely terrible song that deserves scorn in its own right. We've seen this experiment fail time and time again, so I don't understand why we keep doing this. Back in 2017, when Taylor Swift released "Ready For It?", it was lambasted as one of the worst songs of the year, mostly because of the rapping. Taylor Swift is not a rapper. She did not need to rap. She was not good at it. The same could be said in 2019 for Ariana Grande.

7. 7 Rings - Ariana Grande

When this song came out, there was a lot of talk about whether Ariana was culturally appropriating black culture by doing this. I don't want to delve into that, because it's not something I feel I should be concerned about considering neither side of this debate is anything related to me. Instead, I'm going to concern myself with the fact that this song is a steaming pile of trash. Nothing about it works. Ariana's performance on this song is mediocre, the sentiment of the song is unbearable, and the production just does not sound good. 

Let's start with the lyrics of this song. "7 Rings" is about how much Ariana loves the fact that she's just able to purchase whatever she wants. She lists a bunch of things that she buys, like... girls with tattoos and ATMs. 1) I don't think slavery is legal, Ariana. You can't just buy people. 2) Where on God's green Earth are you purchasing ATMs? And don't act like she's not saying she's buying these things. The NEXT LINE following the ATM line is "buy myself all of my favorite things". She is somehow buying ATMs, so I'd like to find where this place is.

What really put this over the edge is the smugness of it all. "Whoever said money can't solve your problems must not have had enough money to solve them" is one of the most obnoxious lyrics I've ever heard in my entire life. Ariana clearly sees everyone with less money than her as beneath her, and that's not something I want to hear in my pop music. No, Ariana, money is not the key to happiness for most people. This is spoiled rich girl behavior. You clearly haven't learned that some people aren't lucky enough to have everything they want, and that struggling is a part of life for so many people. You should know this, considering everything you went through in 2018, but instead you decided to write a song so bad that it makes me wonder if you're even worth having in our pop music scene at all.

For as talented a singer as Ariana Grande is, so much of her music is just bottom-of-the-barrel terrible. Between this, "Stuck With U", and "yes, and?", she has had so many songs that waste her talent completely. "7 Rings" is a perfect example of this. It takes our generation's answer to Mariah Carey and has her rap half the song because apparently that's what people are into nowadays. I don't blame her for doing this. It worked. It was one of the biggest hits of the year. Clearly I'm the one who doesn't know what I'm talking about here.

#6. 

When it comes to the worst rap music, it usually has to do with bad production and awful lyrics for me. This entry, though, doesn't do either of that. The production is... fine, and the lyrics are not that bad. Instead, this song makes the list literally just because of one verse. I know that seems wrong to do for a list like this, but when your YouTube comments are saying that they'd rather listen to the beat with no vocals, you've done messed up.

6. ZEZE - Kodak Black (feat. Travis Scott & Offset)

I feel bad for Travis Scott and Offset, man. Their backs must hurt so hard from carrying Kodak Black on this song. Kodak is the reason this song is on the list at all, because his performance on this song is one of the worst I've ever heard in my entire life. I don't get his appeal whatsoever. He sounds like if you pitched the adults from Peanuts up about 3 octaves and sped it up by 150%. It doesn't help that he's actually a terrible person who has been arrested numerous times, accused of rape, and wrote a song which originally had the lyric "I get any girl I want, I don't gotta rape". That's not why this song is here, though. It's here because he's just one of the worst rappers (purely talent-wise) currently working, and that is reflected in his parts of the song.

I like the idea of a tropical beach-themed, steel drum rap song. The beat is done well here, and is the best part of the song. I took a look at the YouTube comments of this song before making this entry, and as I said in the intro, so many of the comments are about how the beat goes so hard and they wanted it to be an instrumental. I'm beginning to see a pattern here. The funniest one I found wasn't even about the beat, though. This one said "Everybody gangsta until Kodak starts rapping the enchantment table language". That about sums it up. 

What is ZEZE about? I guess it's about how decadent these artists' lifestyles are, but that's just what Genius tells me. I couldn't tell you from listening to it. Travis Scott raps about ice water in the Atlantic and being an "a*s and titty lover", but those are the only standout lyrics. Kodak Black pulls up in a Dodge Demon and proceeds to completely ruin the song. Offset's verse is probably the highlight, with lyrics referencing David and Goliath, Chanel bags, and David Beckham. The lyrical content isn't anything reprehensible, but it's monotonous and similar to tons of songs of this type. Nothing special.

Kodak Black, similar to Chris Brown before him, is someone who shouldn't have this level of success in the music industry. He has ruined so many songs with his presence alone (see Doechii's "What It Is" and A Boogie wit da Hoodie's "Drowning" for more proof) and none of his solo work is any good. Maybe follow the other two guys on this list who had terrible voices and just fade into obscurity. He hasn't had a hit since 2022, so maybe we're good there? Maybe?

#5.

Do you remember how in my 2024 worst list, I criticized "yes, and?" for making what should've been an uplifting anthem into something worse by adding in unnecessary personal drama? Do you want to hear what it would be like if Taylor Swift did that? If you answered yes, I'm concerned. If you answered no, then too bad. Here you go!

5. You Need To Calm Down - Taylor Swift

Why are we even here? Just to suffer? Taylor Swift is never good when she makes her music about petty personal drama. Between basically the entirety of Reputation and this song, it just isn't good. Unlike, "yes, and?" from last year, "You Need To Calm Down" is not a good song ruined by adding in unnecessary personal drama. Instead, it's an already terrible song made worse by complaining about the same thing! What fun!

Let's start with the production on this. This is some of the worst production I've ever heard on a Taylor Swift song. The synth bass sounds very... liquid. I'm not sure if that's the correct word to describe it, but it's just unpleasant to listen to. It continues throughout the entirety of the song and it's easily the worst aspect of how this sounds. The percussion I guess is fine, but it's swamped out by the bass and completely overshadowed by the other instruments on the chorus.

What is "You Need To Calm Down" about? Well, the song begins with Taylor complaining about people making social media posts criticizing her. Sure, that's no fun to deal with, but she acts like she doesn't care about it despite taking an entire verse to discuss it. She says "snakes and stones never broke my bones", which honestly just baffles me. That's not the phrase, Taylor. Say it right. The second verse of this song criticizes homophobia, which makes the message of the song all the more confusing. Is this about bashing your haters or anti-gay messaging? Combining the two into a single song makes it seem like you think of those as equal, when you probably shouldn't.

I don't think this song is as bad as "yes, and?" was, but I brought it up because it was the first comparison I could think of. In Ariana's case, she was criticizing people for getting mad about her homewrecking. In Taylor's case, she's just criticizing those who don't like her music and personality. I can understand why she would do that. That doesn't make it fun to listen to. I guess I'm the target audience for this, since I'm the one bashing her, but I'm not calming down. I wonder what Taylor's next arc is going to be. Hopefully it's not anything like this.

#4.

I've become a big fan of country music in recent years. Stars like Morgan Wallen, Shaboozey, Zach Bryan, Nate Smith, and Luke Combs have become staples in my playlists. It's easily my favorite genre, but that's not to say it doesn't have its rough moments. Many of my worst list entries in 2024 were country songs, and I've had country songs top my worst lists before. In 2019, country music wasn't really bad, it was just kinda boring. At least that's better than this.

4. Knockin' Boots - Luke Bryan

Do we... need Luke Bryan anymore? We've already replaced him with a much better singer with the surname Bryan, so is there a point to keeping him in the country scene? I'm sure he could spend the rest of his days relaxing with his family in his mansion. The dude's almost 50 years old, so he's well past the peak of his career at this point. The most recent thing I've heard from him was on "Georgia Ways", a collaboration between him, Quavo, and Teddy Swims. While that song was surprisingly very good, Bryan was easily the weakest link of the three. Granted, I've never particularly liked his music. I remember being really young, hearing "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)" and thinking it was one of the worst songs I'd ever heard in my entire life.

Despite all of this, Bryan had a huge hit in 2019 with "Knockin' Boots", which is easily his worst single to date. It's just a list of country cliches about things that need each other like a man needs a woman, and it is just so corny. Bryan seems like a middle-aged dad trying to write a silly sex jam for the first time, but there's nothing sexy about it. It's like a country version of Charlie Puth's "Marvin Gaye", and that is one of the worst insults I think I've ever given to a piece of music in my entire life. 

It also just sounds really bad. The guitars are very poorly produced, and the percussion is very shoddy. The guitar solo at the end of every chorus is basic and isn't fun to listen to. This isn't "sex jam" music, this is "10th grade prom" music. If I heard someone perform this at a bar, I'd probably boo. It doesn't help that, as I mentioned before, the lyrics are unfathomably bad. Here are some examples. "Birds need bees and ice needs whiskey" is the opening line of the chorus, and while the first is true, the second one just isn't. You can put ice with any drink. I prefer my ice with a nice sweet tea, which he also mentions in the song (saying it needs that "sugar stirrin'"), or a water. There's also a reference to "Fishin' in the Dark" by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (fun fact, that band also wrote "God Bless The Broken Road"), and it only reminds me I could be listening to THAT song instead. 

Luke Bryan has never been a good artist. Even on the songs of his I like, he's not a very strong performer. Put him on a song that never had a chance to begin with? You get this. One of the cringiest, most underthought songs I've ever heard in my entire life. Bro country never died. It just turned into "middle aged dad country". At least Florida Georgia Line tried. 

#3.

Music can be a science experiment. Sometimes, you'll strike gold and create something truly special, like Coldplay did when they somehow came up with "Viva La Vida". Sometimes, you'll accidentally burn your whole house down. Take any entry before this one. The artist behind it was trying to make something good, but failed miserably. Now, imagine if you were doing that, but accidentally destroyed the entire planet. Well, congratulations to you, Lil Dicky. You tried to save the Earth, but instead poisoned everything by giving us one of the most incompetent songs I've ever heard in my life.

#3. Earth - Lil Dicky

I'm confused by this song's existence. The idea of Lil Dicky making an anthem to try and stop global warming is one of the dumbest things I've ever read on a computer screen, and yet here I am typing it out. Combine that with the fact that Dicky recruits basically everybody in the music industry to help him out on this task. The problem with this is... it's Lil Dicky. His entire schtick is making dumb jokes about how small his penis is. Mixing that premise with the idea of a genuine anti-global warming anthem is so utterly ridiculous, and it's even worse in concept.

This song has its moments. The classic Kevin Hart "and I'm Kanye West" bit genuinely makes me laugh. Snoop Dogg as weed and Adam Levine as a group of vultures are also just perfect songwriting. The problem is, so many of the jokes just do not land. Why is Charlie Puth a giraffe? Why is Zac Brown a cow? Wouldn't it have made more sense for him to be a chicken considering his band's biggest hit? Why is Joel Embiid here? What do sex jokes about animals have to do with saving the Earth, Dicky? WHAT WERE YOU EVEN GOING FOR?

Then... there's the infamous lines. The song begins with 2 verses shouting out random animals, and then starts calling out countries and continents. After Meghan Trainor, Joel Embiid and (am I reading this right)... Tory Lanez say they love India, Africa, and the Chinese, respectively, Dicky utters the famous line "we forgive you, Germany". 

I'm speechless.

No, seriously. 

"We forgive you, Germany"? Are you stupid? Why would you say that? What does reminding people of the Holocaust have to do with saving the Earth you utter buffoon? 

Lil Dicky is the worst rapper I've ever heard in my entire life. I thought to be a comedy rapper, you had to be funny. Instead, we have a guy whose biggest hit is about how he wants to swap places with a known woman-beater, and whose second-biggest hit is what We Are The World would be if it was written by a 12-year-old coming off 30 straight hours of watching Family Guy cutaway gags. This is bad enough that it should take the number one, no question, right? Well...

#2.

This is going to seem like a very odd pick for me, considering how much I've allowed my religious views to affect where I place songs on these lists. In 2019, one of the biggest hits of the year was an actual contemporary Christian song. That is very rare. There are very few Christian artists who could even dream of pulling that off, and yet it happened in 2019. All-time great Christian acts like Steven Curtis Chapman have never even made it to the Hot 100, yet a Christian song made the 2019 Year-End Hot 100. So, what song was this? And why is it #2 on my list of the worst songs of the year? And what on Earth could it have possibly done to be worse than "Earth" by Lil Dicky? I guess I should explain.

2. You Say - Lauren Daigle

Lauren Daigle seems like a genuinely awesome person. I feel bad putting her on this list, but I've promised to be honest with myself in every list I make. She's made a ton of music that I have a lot of love for, including "How Can It Be", "First", and "Still Rolling Stones". I even liked this song the first few times I heard it. So, what caused me to turn? Well, this is going to sound kind of petty, but it was overplay. When this song came out, I was still listening to basically only Christian music, and the radio would play this song non-stop. It seemed like every time I turned the radio on it was playing this song, and I eventually got to the point that I instinctively turned the radio off whenever I heard it.

I'm going to devote this entry to discussing a point I heard a fellow critic make about this song. Sean Fay-Wolfe is a person who I have a lot of respect for, and he also put this song at #2 on his worst list for 2019, but for a completely different reason than me. He claimed that this song's second verse is an unhealthy mindset to have in basing your opinion of yourself on someone else's opinion of you. I agree that that mindset is not a good one to have, considering it's one I've had a lot in my life. If you're looking at this song from a secular context, that point is perfectly valid to me. I'm not looking at this song from that context.

I've struggled so much with my faith over the years. This song should've helped me. The lyrics read to me like they would be a breath of fresh air that would lift me up over my demons, but it just doesn't come out that way in practice. Instead, I'm constantly wondering about whether God is working in my life, and this song only serves as a reminder of my lack of faith. All of the mental health crises I've had in my life have been because of my lack of faith, and "You Say" is one of those songs that serves as a constant reminder of my failures. I've based my entire identity in my life on what others think of me, and the song glorifies that perspective, albeit unintentionally. 

"You Say" is my least favorite Christian song of all time. I don't think it's a bad song, but it's a song that I would never listen to again if I had the choice. Lauren Daigle's success makes so much sense, considering she sounds so much like Adele, but this is not it for me. It's a song that was #1 on the Billboard Year-End Hot Christian Songs chart for 3 years, so it makes sense that I started listening to other genres during its reign. I can't justify putting this at #2, but it's my list so I'm going to do what I feel is right. And this feels right.

And now, before I reveal my pick for the worst hit song of 2019, we have some dishonorable mentions.

Dishonorable Mentions

DM1. Money In The Grave - Drake (feat. Rick Ross)

2019 was a fairly quiet year for Drake after the monster year he had in 2018, but he still had some hits. This was his worst. As Kendrick Lamar said, "Dear Adonis, I'm sorry that that man is your father", considering Drake is trying to screw him out of any inheritance when he dies. Also, Rick Ross is here. How did his career not die after "U.O.E.N.O."? I have absolutely no idea.

DM2. Please Me - Cardi B & Bruno Mars

"Finesse" was good. This was not. Bruno sounds drunk on here and Cardi sounds like... well, Cardi, but it still was a disappointment considering their last collaboration. Until he decided to collaborate with Sexyy Red for some reason, this was Bruno's worst song. Now... well you'll see in December (:

DM3. Swervin' - A Boogie wit da Hoodie (feat. 6ix9ine)

This song isn't actually bad, I'm just wondering why A Boogie wit da Hoodie decided he had to work with 6ix9ine of all people. The dude's one of the worst people working in the music industry and definitely the worst person on this entire list, so why was he still getting work at this time? At least it's better than the song he somehow got to go to #1.

DM4. Only Human - Jonas Brothers

This song makes me want to dance in literally any room other than the living room just to piss these three off. I swear if I hear the phrase "dance in the living room" again in my entire life I'm actually going to lose it.

DM5. Thotiana - Blueface

See, I respect the attempt, but it's just not for me. Blueface has the charisma of a saltine cracker and the production is exceptionally basic. Cardi adds some personality on the remix but it just doesn't work very well at all.

DM6. I Don't Care - Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber

Well, considering neither of you had a year-end charting single in 2024, maybe you guys should've cared. This is honestly just pathetic. Ed Sheeran is an awesome songwriter, but this just should've been scrapped well before finishing production. I guess he just wanted a big smash hit. Congratulations! You got one! Now you're just gone. Bye, bye Ed!

DM7. Senorita - Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello

I don't even know what to say about this song. It's not offensive, it's not ambitious, but it's also just not good. Any song where these two aren't just screaming their guts out is not going to work for me. Both of them have made great music, but this is bottom-of-the-barrel for Camila and honestly just mediocre for Shawn (don't think I haven't forgotten about 'Treat You Better" and (barf) "Stitches")

DM8. Kill This Love - BLACKPINK

And now for the take that's probably going to get me killed. Look, I get the appeal of K-pop, and there are some songs from the genre I love, but it's just not my thing most of the time. BLACKPINK specifically has this gimmick of going over-the-top on every single song, and I'm not a fan of that style. Here it just sounds bad. This isn't the worst song I've ever heard, but the drop following the chorus is one of the worst drops I've ever heard and drags the song from a 6/10 to a 3/10. 

And now... for the worst hit song of 2019.

#1.

I know that I talked about how much I hated the last two songs. "Earth" probably should be here, and "You Say" would be here if I was going based on what song I never want to hear again, but I have to be honest with myself. Is the worst song of the year the one that had an awful experiment? The one that made me the angriest? The one I heard too many times? No. The worst song of the year should be one that had no ambition, no talent, no reason to exist, and yet was one of the biggest songs in the entire world for no reason. What I'm trying to say is.... the worst song of 2019 is "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi.

1. Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi

Lewis Capaldi is not talentless. I'm not going to say that. I've heard songs I liked from him. "Before You Go" and "Forget Me" are both excellent songs that I still listen to every now and then. None of that disguises the fact that his biggest hit, "Someone You Loved", is one of the worst songs I've ever heard. The production is bland. Capaldi sings like a dying goat. The lyrics are basic. Every single element of this song is a bad decision. There is no upside to this song. Not one positive thing I can say about it. I could've written this. A toddler could've written this. It's a disgrace to every piano ballad ever written.

I don't have to say anything more about this song. If you've listened to it, you know it's one of the worst songs ever written. It's one of the worst #1 hits of all time. I guess I'll start with how it sounds. The song's instrumental is just a basic piano line that doesn't get any more complex throughout, leaving the listener to focus on Capaldi's vocal performance. I'd rather jump into a volcano. The song is one or two steps out of his vocal range, and it sounds like he's screaming in agony rather than emotional belting. 

I should also discuss the lyrics. This song is inconsistent. He sings as if he's losing everything, but the lyrics make it sound like it's just a mediocre romance. "I was getting kinda used to be someone you loved" and "I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain". I can see why she left, Lewis. You don't sound confident that this was for you. She wanted someone who actually cared and didn't just "kinda" like it. His complete incompetence as a songwriter makes me feel bad for the girl in this situation instead of him, and that's not what the song is aiming for.

Of course, it all comes together in what is quite possibly the worst musical moment in history. "And IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII tend to close my eyes when it hurts sometimes I fall into your AAAAAARMMSSS". I'm genuinely laughing at this. It's so overwrought and joyless that honestly it's hilarious. Never change, Lewis Capaldi. Never change. 

"Someone You Loved" was always going to be #1 on this list. For me, this is the 3rd worst #1 hit of all time, behind 6ix9ine & Nicki Minaj's "Trollz" and Kanye West's "Carnival". Unlike those two, this one doesn't represent anything morally reprehensible or controversial. It just sounds like complete garbage. I guess that's the moral here. Don't sound like complete garbage.

This is Lando from the Landoman Experiment. I hope you enjoyed reading and have a wonderful day.