Welcome back to the 101 Biggest Hits of 2016! On today’s menu, I will reveal songs 90 through 81 on the countdown. If you missed any previous installment, here’s where you can catch up:
Let’s get things started with song #90!
#90: Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara
Peak: #13 2016 Weeks on Chart: 16 Points: 993
Billboard Year-End Ranking: Not Ranked
After “Here” became a huge sleeper hit this winter, Alessia Cara proceeded to have a busy 2016. Official followup single “Wild Things” reached a #50 peak but came up 10 places short of a spot in this countdown. Current single “Scars To Your Beautiful” failed to crack the Top 10 but has come much closer to equaling the runaway success of “Here.” Cara was also recently tapped to sing the end credits version of “How Far I’ll Go” from the Disney film Moana, which peaked at #88 earlier this month.
#88 (tie): OOOUUU by Young M.A
Peak: #19 2016 Weeks on Chart: 16 Points: 1011
Billboard Year-End Ranking: Not Ranked
I’ve always considered 1,000 points the threshold for a bona fide year-end hit, and 89 songs fit that bill in 2016. Starting us off beyond the threshold is newcomer Young M.A, who began the year in obscurity but finished it sharing screentime with Nicki Minaj, DJ Khaled, and others in a much-seen Beats by Dre commercial. “OOOUUU” was a critically-acclaimed debut single, checking in at #11 on Rolling Stone’s best-of-the-year list.
#88 (tie): No Limit by Usher f/Young Thug
Peak: #32 2016 Weeks on Chart: 20 Points: 1011
Billboard Year-End Ranking: 90
Pop music’s iron man, Usher increased his span of countdown appearances to a whopping 20 years with “No Limit.” Featuring Young Thug, “No Limit” furthers Usher’s late-career progression deeper into the niched adult hip-hop and R&B market. His megahit “DJ Got Us Fallin In Love” days may be over, but his remarkable consistency continues on tracks like this and last year’s “I Don’t Mind.”
#87: In The Name Of Love by Martin Garrix & Bebe Rexha
Peak: #24 2016 Weeks on Chart: 18 Points: 1021
Billboard Year-End Ranking: Not Ranked
A prime candidate for one-hit wonderdom could easily have been teen Dutch DJ Martin Garrix, who stormed the charts in 2014 with the brilliantly strange “Animals.” However, along with the rest of the EDM genre, Garrix was able to soften his trademark sound in 2016, and the end result netted him another Top 40 hit with “In The Name Of Love.” Where “Animals” was essentially an instrumental, this new single features vocals from popular choice Bebe Rexha.
#86: Chill Bill by Rob $tone f/J.Davis & Spooks
Peak: #29 2016 Weeks on Chart: 20 Points: 1028
Billboard Year-End Ranking: Not Ranked
Three newcomers teamed up to create one of the year’s most unlikely hits. As its play-on-words title might suggest, “Chill Bill” utilizes a whistling sample from “Twisted Nerve,” a song made famous from its use in Kill Bill, Vol. 1.
#85: Hide Away by Daya
Peak: #23 2016 Weeks on Chart: 15 Points: 1030
Billboard Year-End Ranking: 84
Certainly one of the candidates for 2016’s Rookie Of The Year, Pittsburgh teen Daya scores three entries on this year’s countdown. Her debut single “Hide Away” began its chart run late last year, which ultimately siphoned away the points necessary to catch up with her other entries in the rankings.
#84: Ex’s & Oh’s by Elle King
Peak: #14 (#10 in 2015) 2016 Weeks on Chart: 15 Points: 1044
Billboard Year-End Ranking: 63
One of 2015’s biggest sleeper hits, “Ex’s & Oh’s” continued its strong run through the first four months of 2016. Elle King had a relatively quiet 2016 after her smash hit faded off the charts, as her contribution to the Ghostbusters soundtrack failed to reach the Hot 100. However, on country radio she helped Dierks Bentley score a solid hit on the duet “Different For Girls.”
#83: Pop Style by Drake f/The Throne
Peak: #16 2016 Weeks on Chart: 20 Points: 1061
Billboard Year-End Ranking: 82
Drake had an immensely successful 2016, between every song on Views charting to several standalone releases and featuring on several massive hits. In fact, he placed no fewer than 8 songs in this countdown, leaving him one shy of the all-time record (Lil Wayne showed up 9 times in 2008). “Pop Style” was one of the promotional singles which eventually turned up on Views, and if your 2011-12 rap tastes are still intact, it shouldn’t take long to realize that The Throne is the de facto name assumed by the pairing of Kanye West and Jay Z.
#82: When We Were Young by Adele
Peak: #14 2016 Weeks on Chart: 17 Points: 1071
Billboard Year-End Ranking: 83
Though its first-week sales were truly gargantuan, Adele’s 25 album will likely go down in history as a slightly less successful album than 21. That didn’t stop it from having a slew of successful singles, but its tracklist failed to generate the three #1 hits from 21. Of all of them, my personal favorite was “When We Were Young,” which built slowly and steadily to an excellent final chorus.
#81: Black Beatles by Rae Sremmurd f/Gucci Mane
Peak: #1 (for 6 weeks) 2016 Weeks on Chart: 14 Points: 1076
Billboard Year-End Ranking: Not Ranked
The definitive viral hit of 2016 belonged to none other than the boys behind “No Flex Zone” and “No Type.” As the fortuitous backdrop for the ubiquitous Mannequin Challenge, “Black Beatles” helped Rae Sremmurd defy expectations and garner their first career #1 hit. Since its reign at the top began in November, Billboard’s early cutoff for year-end consideration precluded the track from appearing on its own list. As such, “Black Beatles” is the highest-ranked song on my countdown to not have a comparable Billboard year-end ranking.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
That’s all for today! The song will keep getting bigger and bigger as the subsequent parts of the countdown come around, so be sure to keep checking in over the next week or so. A big thanks to everyone for joining me for songs 90-81 of the 101 Biggest Hits of 2016, and I’ll see you here tomorrow for songs 80-71!
Until then,
Ryan
Milowickipedia 
8 comments