As we approach the dog days of summer, now is the perfect time to look back and assess the state of the streaming pop music that's been charting so far in 2016. Here's our rundown of the best songs to hit the streaming charts this year.
Drake's "One Dance" has truly dominated the charts since its release in March. The song spent 10 consecutive weeks at number one on Billboard's Hot 100 and remains the top on-demand streaming song for a record 14th week. The success is truly deserved, as Drake manages to fuse his own signature R&B/hip-hop style with an understated tropical production that everybody is dancing to, and streaming, deep into summer.
Zayn's "Pillow Talk" instantly heralded the former One Directioner as a solo force to be reckoned with when it came out in January. Its sexy lyrics and dark electronic production perfectly suited Zayn's understated delivery and inspired couples everywhere to get loud beneath the sheets and "piss off the neighbors" with their own pillow talk while streaming the song during the cold winter months of 2016.
Everyone had pretty much written off Joe Jonas' music career, which had been overshadowed by the relative and recent success of brother Nick. That all changed with the buoyant, funky and original romp "Cake By The Ocean" which slowly grew in streams to ultimately result in a bona fide hit song for Joe with his new band DNCE.
The Chainsmokers were an EDM production duo who for several years had success in that limited genre. The two finally hit the mainstream last year with their first hit "Roses," but then outdid themselves in 2016 with the addictive and haunting "Don't Let Me Down," the biggest electronic dance streaming hit of the summer.
When Rihanna's "Work" was first released earlier this year as the first single of her Anti album, some observers were perplexed. The unusual sounding hook didn't sound like any of her previous hits, and the dancehall style production seemed less mainstream. A few months later, she had proved herself a leader, not a follower, having smashed the streaming charts with this trendsetting grower.
Special mention also goes to girl group Fifth Harmony, who proved that oddly enough there was room for two simultaneous hit songs with a "work, work, work" chorus as their fun and catchy pop hit "Work From Home" almost matched the success of "Work" on the streaming charts this year.
