Apple Music’s Top Song of 2023 is Probably Not What You Think

By
Nikoleta P
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Morgan Wallen at Country Stampede Music Festival in 2019
Morgan Wallen at Country Stampede Music Festival in 2019. Photo by Rick Diamond/Shutterstock (10319638ah)

We’ve entered that time of the year when “year-in-review” lists are popping up everywhere, and Apple Music embraced this trend. The popular music streaming service unveiled its list of the top songs of 2023, but can you guess who made it to the No. 1 spot?

Smash hits that we’ve been listening to all year long, such as “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus and “Kill Bill” by SZA, did pretty great on Apple Music’s list, but none of them took the No. 1 spot. They had to take the back seat to Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping single “Last Night”.

This is quite a shocker considering that “Last Night” wasn’t a huge hit outside of the country circles, but its success could’ve been expected. Wallen’s loyal fanbase helped him top the Billboard Hot 100 chart with this song and spend 16 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1, despite making little to no impact outside of North America and Oceania.

According to Apple’s official statement, this year’s list feels more global than ever because it includes several fast-rising regional acts holding their own. They singled out Mexican superstar Peso Pluma, K-pop girl group NewJeans, Japanese duo Yoasobi, and breakout Nigerian star Rema as proof of the list’s global appeal.

Check out Apple Music’s full list of top songs of 2023, and see if your favorites made the cut!

  1. Last Night – Morgan Wallen
  2. Flowers – Miley Cyrus
  3. Kill Bill – SZA
  4. Rich Flex – Drake, 21 Savage
  5. Snooze – SZA
  6. Anti-Hero – Taylor Swift
  7. IDOL – YOASOBI
  8. Under the Influence – Chris Brown
  9. Creepin’ – The Weeknd, Metro Boomin, 21 Savage
  10. Subtitle – OFFICIAL HIGE DANDISM
  11. Spin Bout U – Drake, 21 Savage
  12. Calm Down – Rema, Selena Gomez
  13. Freestyle – Lil Baby
  14. As It Was – Harry Styles
  15. Cruel Summer – Taylor Swift
  16. Unholy – Kim Petras, Sam Smith
  17. WAIT FOR U (feat. Drake & Tems) – Future
  18. Ella Baila Sola – Peso Pluma, Eslabon Armado
  19. Ditto – NewJeans
  20. You Proof – Morgan Wallen
  21. fukumean – Gunna
  22. Superhero (Heroes & Villains) – Metro Boomin, Future, Chris Brown
  23. All My Life (feat. J. Cole) – Lil Durk
  24. Just Wanna Rock – Lil Uzi Vert
  25. Sure Thing – Miguel
  26. Thinkin’ Bout Me – Morgan Wallen
  27. Die For You – The Weeknd
  28. Boy’s a liar, Pt. 2 – PinkPantheress, Ice Spice
  29. Jimmy Cooks (feat. 21 Savage) – Drake
  30. Tití Me Preguntó – Bad Bunny
  31. I’m Good (Blue) – Bebe Rexha, David Guetta
  32. Favorite Song – Toosii
  33. KICK BACK – Kenshi Yonezu
  34. Fast Car – Luke Combs
  35. Search & Rescue – Drake
  36. Something in the Orange – Zach Bryan
  37. OMG – NewJeans
  38. Shirt – SZA
  39. I Ain’t Worried – OneRepublic
  40. Kaiju No Hanauta – Vaundy
  41. Low Down – Lil Baby
  42. One Thing At A Time – Morgan Wallen
  43. Nobody Gets Me – SZA
  44. CUFF IT – Beyoncé
  45. STAY – The Kid LAROI, Justin Bieber
  46. Blinding Lights – The Weeknd
  47. golden hour – JVKE
  48. Seven – Latto, Jung Kook
  49. Lavender Haze – Taylor Swift
  50. Wasted On You – Morgan Wallen