Top 10 Best Songs of 2025

 

Hey guys! With my top 10 worst list of 2025 complete, it's time to take a look at my top 10 best songs of 2025. There's not really much to go over, so let's get right into it!

10: Selena Gomez/benny blanco - Bluest Flame

It's funny, Selena Gomez appears in both my worst and best list of 2025. Bluest Flame is a million times better then Scared Of Loving You. This was actually written by Charli XCX, which you can tell when you listen to this song. The hyper-pop dance production is really fun, and Selena sounds great despite having weird vocal effects on her voice.

9: Charlie Puth - Changes

This is one of Charlie Puth's best songs in a long time. The production is amazing, it sounds straight out of an 80s sitcom. And Charlie Puth's voice is amazing as always.

8: 3OH!3 - SLUSHIE

3OH!3 is a name I haven't heard since 2010. I didn't know they were even still making music until I went on their Spotify page. The glitchcore production here is super cool. It reminds me a lot of their earlier music like DONTTRUSTME and STARSTRUKK. I wish this could have become a hit, but I understand since this isn't very radio friendly.

7: Lorde - What Was That

Lorde's big comeback song in 4 years did not disappoint. The song starts off a bit slow, but towards the middle it starts to get interesting with all the synthpop production. And Lorde's voice is incredible as always. It's a shame this song flopped as hard as it did.

6: AJR - Betty

AJR's first song after not making any music for 2 years did not disappoint. The bedroom pop production is super fun and reminds me a lot of their earlier music. And singer Jack Met sounds amazing as always. It's a shame this song flopped so hard.

5: Doechii - DENIAL IS A RIVER

This song was just so hilarious. It sounds straight out of a 90s sitcom. The lyrics are hilarious, especially the breathing exercise at the end of the song. It's a shame this flopped so hard in favor of Anxiety. This deserved way more success than Anxiety. 

4: Jonas Brothers - Love Me To Heaven

This was the Jonas Brothers' best song in a long time. The production is insanely fun and the brothers sound great as always. This song deserved much more success.

3: Reneé Rapp - Leave Me Alone

It's a shame this song never became a hit. This is easily her best song. The alt production is super cool and really catchy and her voice surprisingly works well for this type of music. I was very sad when this dropped out of hitbound.

2: Laufey - Lover Girl

I will admit, I wasn't a huge fan of Laufey when I first heard her. In fact, I thought Tough Luck was terrible when I first heard it on hitbound. Then one day, Tough Luck randomly grew on me a ton. Then I heard this song, and I finally understood all the hype about Laufey. The production is really strange, but it somehow works really well. It's like a cross between jazz, samba, and bossa nova, which in theory sounds like a terrible combination. But it actually sounds really cool and interesting. And Laufey's voice is heavenly. Hopefully this song doesn't end up flopping on the countdown.

And my #1 favorite song of 2025 is...

....

.....

Pause for dramatic effect...

.....

1: JENNIE/Dominic Fike - Love Hangover

This seems like an unexpected song to put as my favorite song of 2025. But the more I relistened to it, I realized how great this song was. The production is really interesting. It has an alt Kpop style, which is super catchy and unique. I'm not normally a huge fan of Dominic Fike, his song Mama's Boy ended up on my worst list of 2023, but his verse is actually really good. And JENNIE sounds great here also. It's a shame this dropped out of hitbound and never became a hit.

Well that does it for now. See you guys next time!

Final list:

10: Selena Gomez/benny blanco - Bluest Flame

9: Charlie Puth - Changes

8: 3OH!3 - SLUSHIE

7: Lorde - What Was That

6: AJR - Betty

5: Doechii - DENIAL IS A RIVER

4: Jonas Brothers - Love Me To Heaven

3: Reneé Rapp - Leave Me Alone

2: Laufey - Lover Girl

1: JENNIE/Dominic Fike - Love Hangover

Taylor Swift (3) - Week of Dec 13, 2025

 

Hey guys! Make sure to check out my top 10 worst songs of 2025 post if you haven't already https://zestpond.blogspot.com/2025/12/top-10-worst-songs-of-2025.html

Before we get to this week's fresh 30, let's say goodbye to the songs leaving the countdown: 

• Doja Cat - Jealous Type [#20] {15w} PK: 16
• AJR - The Big Goodbye [#19] {11w} PK: 17

Last week's #1 song: Taylor Swift - The Fate of Ophelia [2 weeks at #1]

30. Tyla - CHANEL [Debut] {1w} PK: 30

29. SIENNA SPIRO - Die On This Hill [-1] {3w} PK: 28

28. Justin Bieber - YUKON [-1] {8w} PK: 26

27. Jessie Murph - I'm Not There For You [+3] {5w} PK: 25

26. Meghan Trainor - Still Don't Care [+3] {4w} PK: 26

25. Leon Thomas - MUTT [-2] {12w} PK: 23

24. Tate McRae - TIT FOR TAT [+2] {11w} PK: 18

23. Benson Boone - Mr Electric Blue [Debut] {1w} PK: 23

22. Madison Beer - bittersweet [+2] {9w} PK: 20

21. Kevin Jonas - Changing [+4] {3w} PK: 21

20. Sophia James - So Unfair [-2] {7w} PK: 18

19. Charlie Puth - Changes [+2] {5w} PK: 19

18. Laufey - Lover Girl [-2] {8w} PK: 16

17. Ed Sheeran - Camera [=] {13w} PK: 5

16. Alessi Rose - First Original Thought [+6] {11w} PK: 15

15. David Guetta/Teddy Swims/Tones And I - Gone Gone Gone [=] {9w} PK: 13

14. KATSEYE - Gabriela [-1] {19w} PK: 10

13. sombr - 12 to 12 [-3] {6w} PK: 10

12. Lady Gaga - The Dead Dance [-3] {14w} PK: 6

11. 5 Seconds of Summer - NOT OK [-3] {11w} PK: 8

10. Sabrina Carpenter - Tears [-4] {15w} [3 weeks at #1]

9. Alex Warren/Jelly Roll - Bloodline [+3] {9w} PK: 9

8. Chappell Roan - The Subway [+3] {19w} PK: 6

7. Conan Gray - Vodka Cranberry [+7] {19w} PK: 7

6. Taylor Swift - Opalite [+1] {9w} PK: 6

5. Olivia Dean - Man I Need [=] {13w} PK: 5

4. KPop Demon Hunters Cast - Golden [-2] {21w} [4 weeks at #1]

3. sombr - back to friends [+1] {21w} PK: 3

2. RAYE - WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! [+1] {7w} PK: 2

1. Taylor Swift - The Fate of Ophelia [=] {10w} [3 weeks at #1]

Debuts:

Glad to see this song ended up debuting. Tyla makes her return to the countdown with CHANEL after PUSH 2 START flopped hard. This is so much better than PUSH 2 START. The afrobeats production is super catchy and Tyla sounds great. Hopefully this ends up doing well.

After dropping out of hitbound back in July, Mr Electric Blue finally debuts. This has grown on me a lot since it left hitbound. The 80s synthpop production is super fun and Benson sounds great. Hopefully this does well.

Countdown Extra: ROLE MODEL - Writing's On The Wall

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Conan Gray - Vodka Cranberry [+7]

Biggest...DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Sabrina Carpenter - Tears [-4]

Last year's #1 song: Lady Gaga/Bruno Mars - Die With A Smile (3/4 weeks at #1)

Favorite song last year: Crash Adams - Optimist

Least favorite song last year: Gracie Abrams - I Love You, I'm Sorry

Most missed song: Flo Rida/David Guetta - Club Can't Handle Me (2010)

Recommendation for Hits 1: Kenya Grace - Mr. Cool

5 Oldest Songs

1. Tie between sombr - back to friends and KPop Demon Hunters Cast - Golden {21w}
2. Tie between Chappell Roan - The Subway, Conan Gray - Vodka Cranberry, and KATSEYE - Gabriela {19w}
3. Sabrina Carpenter - Tears {15w}
4. Lady Gaga - The Dead Dance {14w}
5. Tie between Olivia Dean - Man I Need and Ed Sheeran - Camera {13w}

Hitbound

Lewis Capaldi - The Day That I Die [5]

Freya Skye - silent treatment [2]

Olivia Dean - So Easy (To Fall In Love) [4]

ROLE MODEL - Writing's On The Wall [2]

Alex Warren/Gigi Perez - Eternity [3; 2nd time]

Katy Perry - bandaids [6]

Izzy Escobar - Jackie O [Debut]

Tate McRae - NOBODY'S GIRL [4]

Tame Impala - Dracula [6]

Alessi Rose - Get Around [6]

In Color - Headlights [8]

Charli XCX - Chains of Love [5]

The Kid LAROI - A PERFECT WORLD [4]

MAX/Andy Grammer - The Thing I Love [5]

Jessie Murph - I Stay I Leave I Love I Lose [5]

5 Seconds Of Summer - Everyone's A Star! [5]

Also Available On Survey

Sabrina Carpenter - When Did You Get Hot? [7]

Only 1 debut this week, which makes my life a whole lot easier. Izzy Escobar makes her Hits 1 debut with Jackie O. This was on Daniel's show HOTF, and he might have shown me this before, I don't remember. This song isn't really that great. The production is pretty boring and really forgettable, but Izzy's voice is at least decent. This sounds like something my local Kohl's store would play, not something that should be on pop radio.

Exits:

none!

2026 total dropouts: 2

Estimated total for 2026: 52 (-52)

Abyss

MOLIY/Silent Addy/Skillibeng/Shenseea - Shake It To The Max (FLY) (Remix) [1]

Jackson Wang - Made Me A Man [2]

Jonas Brothers - Backwards [3]

Sabrina Carpenter - When Did You Get Hot? [7]

Louis Tomlinson - Lemonade [8]

Finally, these Kpop Demon Hunter songs got purged after being in the abyss for almost 20 weeks. And wow, only 5 songs in the abyss, this is the lightest it's been in a long time.

Mr Electric Blurbs:

We lost Jealous Type and The Big Goodbye. These were both amazing songs, but they were getting very old and really needed to leave.

Why does 12 to 12 have almost no airplay? It was down to #45 in airplay at one point.

Vodka Cranberry is almost 20 weeks old, it shouldn't be getting the biggest jump of the week.

Wow, WHERE IS MY HUSBAND jumped to #2. I really hope this doesn't end up getting blocked from #1.

The Fate of Ophelia is #1 yet again without even being in the top 10 in airplay. It's up to #13 this week compared to #18 last week. But still, a #1 song shouldn't be this low in airplay. 

That's all for now, see you all next week!

Last week's poll of the week results:

Best Top 5 Song This Week On AT40 In 2008?

1. Katy Perry - Hot N Cold: 57.14 % (4 votes)
2. P!nk - So What: 14.29 % (1 vote)
3. Jason Mraz - I'm Yours: 14.29 % (1 vote)
4. T.I./Rihanna - Live Your Life: 14.29 % (1 vote)

Poll of the week:

If the Countdown Was Still 45 Songs - Week of Dec 13, 2025

 

If the countdown was still 45 songs, based off airplay and my own personal opinion.

Before we get to this week's fresh 45, let's say goodbye to the songs leaving the countdown:

• JISOO/ZAYN - EYES CLOSED [#38] {7w} PK: 22
• Zara Larsson - Crush [#32] {7w} PK: 28

Last week's #1 song: Taylor Swift - The Fate of Ophelia [2 weeks at #1]

45. Jackson Wang - Made Me A Man [-11] {3w} PK: 34

44. Myles Smith - Nice To Meet You [-4] {25w} PK: 7

43. ROLE MODEL - Sally, When The Wine Runs Out [-8] {38w} [2 weeks at #1]

42. Louis Tomlinson - Lemonade [+1] {9w} PK: 33

41. sombr - undressed [+3] {31w} [8 weeks at #1]

40. The Weeknd - Cry For Me [-7] {45w} PK: 13

39. Doja Cat - Jealous Type [-19] {16w} PK: 16

38. Jonas Brothers - Backwards [+7] {3w} PK: 38

37. Ravyn Lenae - Love Me Not [+4] {31w} PK: 4

36. Ariana Grande - twilight zone [+1] {36w} PK: 6

35. Tate McRae - Revolving door [+7] {32w} PK: 7

34. AJR - The Big Goodbye [-15] {12w} PK: 17

33. MAX/Andy Grammer - The Thing I Love [-2] {4w} PK: 31

32. Kehlani - Folded [+7] {18w} PK: 23

31. Sabrina Carpenter - Manchild [+5] {27w} [2 weeks at #1]

30. Tyla - CHANEL [Debut] {1w} PK: 30

29. SIENNA SPIRO - Die On This Hill [-1] {3w} PK: 28

28. Justin Bieber - YUKON [-1] {8w} PK: 26

27. Jessie Murph - I'm Not There For You [+3] {5w} PK: 25

26. Meghan Trainor - Still Don't Care [+3] {4w} PK: 26

25. Leon Thomas - MUTT [-2] {12w} PK: 23

24. Tate McRae - TIT FOR TAT [+2] {11w} PK: 18

23. Benson Boone - Mr Electric Blue [Reentry] {3w} PK: 23

22. Madison Beer - bittersweet [+2] {9w} PK: 20

21. Kevin Jonas - Changing [+4] {3w} PK: 21

20. Sophia James - So Unfair [-2] {7w} PK: 18

19. Charlie Puth - Changes [+2] {5w} PK: 19

18. Laufey - Lover Girl [-2] {8w} PK: 16

17. Ed Sheeran - Camera [=] {13w} PK: 5

16. Alessi Rose - First Original Thought [+6] {11w} PK: 15

15. David Guetta/Teddy Swims/Tones And I - Gone Gone Gone [=] {9w} PK: 13

14. KATSEYE - Gabriela [-1] {19w} PK: 10

13. sombr - 12 to 12 [-3] {6w} PK: 10

12. Lady Gaga - The Dead Dance [-3] {14w} PK: 6

11. 5 Seconds of Summer - NOT OK [-3] {11w} PK: 8

10. Sabrina Carpenter - Tears [-4] {15w} [3 weeks at #1]

9. Alex Warren/Jelly Roll - Bloodline [+3] {9w} PK: 9

8. Chappell Roan - The Subway [+3] {19w} PK: 6

7. Conan Gray - Vodka Cranberry [+7] {19w} PK: 7

6. Taylor Swift - Opalite [+1] {9w} PK: 6

5. Olivia Dean - Man I Need [=] {13w} PK: 5

4. KPop Demon Hunters Cast - Golden [-2] {21w} [4 weeks at #1]

3. sombr - back to friends [+1] {21w} PK: 3

2. RAYE - WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! [+1] {7w} PK: 2

1. Taylor Swift - The Fate of Ophelia [=] {10w} [3 weeks at #1]

Biggest Jump Of The Week: Tie between Jonas Brothers - Backwards, Tate McRae - Revolving door, Kehlani - Folded, and Conan Gray - Vodka Cranberry [+7]

Biggest...DRRRRRRROP!!! Of The Week: Doja Cat - Jealous Type [-19]

5 Oldest Songs

1. The Weeknd - Cry For Me {45w}
2. ROLE MODEL - Sally, When The Wine Runs Out {38w}
3. Ariana Grande - twilight zone {36w}
4. Tate McRae - Revolving door {32w}
5. Tie between sombr - undressed and Ravyn Lenae - Love Me Not {31w}

Ethan's Top 15 - Tame Impala (1) - Dec 12, 2025

 

https://www.crownnote.com/charts/zestpond/ethans-top-15-dec-12-2025

Hey guys! Dracula has grown on me a ton this past week and jumps to #1.

Exits:

• Ed Sheeran - Skeletons (#15)
• STEEL/GRATIFY - That Don't Impress Me Much (#14)
• MAX/Andy Grammer - The Thing I Love (#12)
• grandson - BRAINROT (#10)

Last week's #1 song: Sophia James - So Unfair (1 week at #1)

15. The Format - Shot In The Dark (Debut)

14. MOLIY/Silent Addy/Skillibeng/Shenseea - Shake It To The Max (FLY) (Remix) (Debut)

13. Charlie Puth - Changes (-8) (2 weeks at #1)

Christmas pick: The Beach Boys - The Man with All the Toys (1964)

12. Louis Tomlinson - Lemonade (-1) (2 weeks at #1)

11. Benson Boone - Mr Electric Blue (-7)

10. 3OH!3 - HIT ME HARDER (-8) (2 weeks at #1)

Oldies pick: The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations (1967)

9. Freak Nasty/Pitbull - Fun Dip (+4)

8. Kenya Grace - Mr. Cool (Debut)

7. Haiden Henderson - lips (=)

Indie nightcrawler you forgot existed extra: Karly C - In Love With Amazon Prime (2022)

6. ROLE MODEL - Writing's On The Wall (Debut)

5. Tyla - CHANEL (+4)

4. Laufey - Mr. Eclectic (+4)

Throwback pick: Travie McCoy - Need You (2010)

3. Sophia James - So Unfair (-2) (1 week at #1)

2. 3OH!3 - SLUSHIE (+1) (2 weeks at #1)

1. Tame Impala - Dracula (+5) (1 week at #1)

Bubbling Under:

• OneRepublic - Give Me Something
• Mike Posner/SIDEQUEST - Please Don't Go
• Fatboy Slim/The Rolling Stones - Satisfaction Skank
• Haven Madison - If You're Into That

Last year's top 5: 

1. Crash Adams - Optimist (+6) (1/1 week at #1)
2. Tom Morello/grandson/Roman Morello - One Last Dance (-1) (1/1 week at #1)
3. ROSÉ/Bruno Mars - APT. (+1) (3/3 weeks at #1)
4. Balu Brigada - So Cold (+5)
5. Paul Russell - Eat Pray Love (Reentry) (1/3 weeks at #1)

Last year's debuts: 

• Paul Russell - Eat Pray Love (#5) (Reentry)
• Jelly Roll - Run It (#7)
• Games We Play - The End (#8)

Top 10 Worst Songs of 2025

 

Hey guys! Well, it's that time of year where I go over my favorite and least favorite songs of the year. Today, we'll be taking a look at my top 10 least favorite songs of the year. As always, this is just my opinion. If one of your favorite songs is on this list, don't come crying to me. Alright, let's get started!

10: The Marías - No One Noticed

This song was just incredible boring. The production is super basic and doesn't evolve at all. And singer María Zardoya is just whisper singing that makes me want to fall asleep. And the fact that this spent 14 weeks in the abyss means it stuck around way too long. No one noticed when this song died a horrible death.

9: Lewis Capaldi - Something In The Heavens 

This song actually starts off somewhat decent. It's when it gets to the chorus that it makes me want to slam my head against a wall. Lewis oversings way too much. He literally sounds like a cross between a dying frog, a dying dog, a dying guinea pig, a dying water fowl, a dying chimpanzee, and of course a dying pencil sharpener. And the production is just a barebones piano ballad. Thank the heavens this song very quickly left hitbound.

8: Kendrick Lamar/SZA - luther

This was just an insanely generic and boring R&B song. The trap production sucks and Kendrick and SZA do not sound that good together. And the fact that this was extremely overplayed did not help at all.

7: SZA/Kendrick Lamar - 30 For 30

This is literally just a carbon copy of luther, but somehow even worse. The trap production is super annoying, and SZA and Kendrick sound even worse than in luther.

6: Gracie Abrams - I Love You, I'm Sorry

Why did Hits 1 pick up on this random non-single from The Secret of Us, and how did it go #1??????? "I'm Boring, I'm Sorry" would be a much more fitting title for this song.

5: Jon Bellion/Pharrell Williams - HOROSCOPE

This song is just a mess. It starts off slow but at least somewhat tolerable, but by the middle of the song it just falls apart. The production gets super weird and there's this obnoxious vocal filter on Jon's voice. Pharrell's verse was actually decent on this song, I wish there was more of him on this song.

4: Sam Smith - Love Is A Stillness

Snoozefest Sam is back at it again with more weird boring crap. This song was a complete disaster. There's literally no production at all, it's literally just a few piano keys. And Sam is oversinging way too much and sounds terrible. And then there's annoying whistling the last 30 seconds of the song. This song isn't even 2 minutes long, so luckily the torture doesn't last that long.

3: Selena Gomez/benny blanco - Scared Of Loving You

What the heck was this song? This was a complete snoozefest. There's hardly any production, it's just a few guitar strums. And it's just a fragment of a song because it's not even 1:50 minutes long. Thankfully this quickly dropped out of hitbound.

2: Charli XCX - party 4 u

There weren't many songs this year that made me angry anytime it came on in the radio, but this was one of them. On first listen, this song doesn't seem so bad. But the more you hear it, the more you realize how terrible it is. The production is complete garbage. It's some weird boring hyperpop thing. I usually love hyperpop, but this was just extremely boring. And Charli has really bad autotune on her voice throughout the entire song, which sounds super obnoxious. I have no idea how this trainwreck managed to last 20 weeks on the countdown. I usually love Charli, she had some great songs in 2024, so I'm not really sure what happened with this song.

And my #1 least favorite song of 2025 is...

....

....

drumroll please

.....

1: Jessie Murph - Blue Strips

Good lord, there were no songs this year that made me want to punch my radio any time it came on more than this abomination. Longtime readers of my blog know I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Jessie Murph. She's had some great songs like Heartbroken and Wild Ones, but most of her songs are garbage. Hits 1 stans her way too much. She has more songs on Hits 1 than Kelly Clarkson, Imagine Dragons, Coldplay, Harry Styles, among others, which is just ridiculous. Blue Strips is just the culmination of all the things that make Jessie Murph garbage. The production is complete garbage. It's some country trap production that sounds terrible. And then there's Jessie's voice. She's just a female version of Lewis Capaldi. Her voice sounds like a cross between a dying horse, a dying eel, a dying orangutan, a dying snow leopard, a dying bobcat, and a dying deer. And the fact that this song stuck around way too long made it even worse. It did not deserve to last 20 weeks on the countdown. Let's hope 2026 we see a break from Jessie Murph, but this is Hits 1 we're talking about, they'll pick up on literally anything she releases.

Well, that does it for now. Stay tuned for my top 10 best list for 2025. Probably coming out next week.

Final list:

10: The Marías - No One Noticed

9: Lewis Capaldi - Something In The Heavens

8: Kendrick Lamar/SZA - luther

7: SZA/Kendrick Lamar - 30 For 30

6: Gracie Abrams - I Love You, I'm Sorry

5: Jon Bellion/Pharrell Williams - HOROSCOPE

4: Sam Smith - Love Is A Stillness

3: Selena Gomez/benny blanco - Scared Of Loving You

2: Charli XCX - party 4 u

1: Jessie Murph - Blue Strips