Ah, 2016, what a year it has been. Where do I even start? The past 365 days have been quite the adventure. The holidays are a time most of us spend reflecting on the year we are leaving behind as we transition into the next. And as I look back on our good ole friend 2016, the list of highlights just goes on and on. From a painstakingly intense Presidential election to the evolution of the "Mannequin Challenge", all the way through various iconic album releases of Kanye, Beyoncé, Chance the Rapper, The Weeknd, etc. to the rising use of Bitmoji, the Hamilton musical, and the end of the Vine era, it's safe to say that this year has been a legendary one. As most of you know, Spotify has a feature that allows users to view their most played songs of the past year. Most would probably consider their personal year in music to be yet another 2016 highlight to add to the list. However, I recently discovered that my playlist is not exactly something I'd necessarily show off to the world. Nonetheless, I've decided to do my part in spreading holiday cheer by sharing with all of you, my most surprising and somewhat embarrassing top-played songs of the past year.
**BEFORE YOU READ THIS LIST: It's important that you hear me out when I say that I PROMISE I otherwise have a semi-decent taste in music. I think. Okay, carry on.
1. Downtown (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis)
To be quite honest, it never really occurred to me how often I actually listen to this song. Some things in life just completely fly over our heads. I'd absolutely put Macklemore on a sort of "guilty pleasure" list of artists for me in the sense that I'm definitely not proud of how much I listen to him, but I will also never stop?? Especially this song. This is what the "Private Session" feature is for.
2. Defying Gravity (from Wicked)
I 100% completely take full responsibility for this one. If you don't support this, just go ahead and move onto someone else's article. There's no need for that kind of negativity here.
3. CAN'T STOP THE FEELING (Justin Timberlake)
There isn't much to say here. I'm definitely still suffering the feelings of shock and disbelief that have resulted from seeing this in- I KID YOU NOT- the top 10 of my most-played songs of 2016. I still haven't really decided if I'm embarrassed by this or not; however, in my defense, I worked at an overnight camp this past summer which surely contributed to the amount of times I played this song... or at least I really hope so.
4. Hands to Myself (Selena Gomez)
Surprisingly, this was my #1 song. Not really confident enough to express any opinions on this so I'll just leave it there.
5. Bet You Can't Do it Like Me (DLOW)
Y'all say a prayer for ya girl Maddy. Ain't nothin' wrong she just has no idea how or why she listened to this song enough times for it to be one of her top-played in 2016.
6. Bottoms Up (KeKe Palmer)
MOVE YO HIPS, DO YO THANG. I'm not ashamed. Someone back me up.
7. T-Shirt - Main (Shontelle)
Everyone went through a Shontelle phase right? I guess I'm still in mine. Who knew?
8. Ordinary Girl (Hannah Montana)
My only defense here is that I think if I had to put myself in some sort of dramatic music video, I would without a doubt choose this song. Living a double life is no walk in the park and it's time for the rest of the world to understand that.
9. Marvin Gaye (Charlie Puth feat. Meghan Trainor)
Another one I am just super confused by. I really can't make up my mind on how I feel about Meghan Trainor but I do know that I definitely didn't see this coming when she performed this song live at the AMA's. A bold move to say the least. As for the song's spot on my 2016 playlist... that remains a mystery.
10. The Tide is High (Atomic Kitten)
No surprise here. The only way to listen to this song is on 'repeat'. I'd like to personally thank the opening credits scene of the Lizzie McGuire Movie for this head-banger. Actually, I'm just going to go ahead and thank Hilary Duff herself along with the entire cast and crew of this film for honestly one of the best movie soundtracks of all time.
So there it is. No conclusion for this really, I think I'm better off leaving it as-is. However again, please know that this is only a mere selection of the 100 ballads on my Top Songs of 2016 playlist. So trust me, I'm a lot better than this list makes me out to be. Here's to you, 2017. Cheers!
