When we look at 2020, many sounds will come to mind. The 7pm applause for the frontline workers, the voices of Patti Labelle and Gladys Knight mingling together, the deafening silence of existential revelation. But perhaps most of all, it will be “Eeh-uhrr”.
“The Box”, Roddy Ricch’s relentless and shrill success, reaches number one on the Rolling Stone top 100 year-end chart, collecting 866 million audio streams on demand in 2020. Proving that sometimes it’s not both what the words mean and how they escape, like a cat toy or an old door, “The Box” surpassed any other song in 2020 in more than 750,000 music units and 210 million streams.
Although the song reached the top earlier – reaching the top spot on the weekly RS 100 in the first week of the year and spending 10 non-consecutive weeks there – it proved difficult to beat over the months: no song was able to eclipse it it at the end of the year. (The only one that came close was DaBaby’s “Rockstar”, which features Roddy Ricch; that single managed to tie “The Box” with 10 weeks at number one.)
Second in the end of year RS 100 is Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights”, which saw 5.7 million units in 2020. “Rockstar” and Drake and Future “Life Is Good” follow in Numbers Three and Four. Completing the Top Five is Kentucky-born rapper Jack Harlow, who was one of the greatest innovative artists of 2020. His escape to the “Whats Poppin” piano trap yielded 4.6 million units in 2020.
O Rolling Stone The top 100 chart tracks the most popular songs of the week in the United States. The songs are classified by music units, a number that combines audio streams and song sales using a custom weighting system. The chart does not include passive listening such as terrestrial radio or digital radio. O Rolling StonThe Top 100 chart covers streams and sales from January 3, 2020 to December 31, 2020.
The Top 10 is, and tends to be, heavy hip-hop, including two consecutive songs by Megan Thee Stallion: “Savage” at Number Six and her collaboration with Cardi B “WAP” at Number Seven. Four years after its initial release, Brooklyn rapper Saint JHN’s “Roses” takes number nine thanks to producer Imanbek’s sticky remix, while Post Malone’s “Circles”, released in September 2019, remains at number 10.
But a newcomer to the country manages to break the top 10, with Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope” takes number eight with 3.6 million units. Overall, as in the year-end RS 200, the country has a stronger performance in this year’s RS 100 compared to 2019. Overall, 14 country songs are on this year’s chart, compared to 11 last year. on the charts, with “Beautiful Crazy” and “Beer Never Broke My Heart” leading 61 and 78. And promising Morgan Wallen releases three songs at the end of the year with “Chasin You” (number 29), “Whiskey Glasses” ( Number 48) and “More Than My Hometown” (Number 71) Overall, the country saw a 19 percent increase in audio on demand streams in 2020, more than the overall 16 percent increase.
And 43 years after its release, Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” brings a wave of cranberry-raspberry juice Ocean Spray to the end of year RS 100. After being featured in a viral TikTok video, the Rumors hit reached number 64 on the RS 100 this summer. In all, “Dreams” had 1.9 million music units in 2020.
Lil Baby, Pop Smoke, Juice WRLD and Post Malone drew with the greatest number of songs from the RS 100 at the end of the year, with four each. Post Malone’s biggest song of the year was “Circles” at number 10. “For the Night” by Pop Smoke leads at number 17, while Lil Baby’s “Sum 2 Prove” ends at number 31 and the collaboration of Marshmello de Juice WRLD “Come & Go” takes 51st.
See the full year-end RS 100 here.