Good For You

FFS was not risky at all ...

why isn't Uptown Funk on here???
racisme

Tragic

None of them are risky.

Honestly, I'd have to say FourFiveSeconds. Rihanna has a LOT to lose, and she's expected to get hits. Also, it's quite dangerous to release a song that probably won't go #1 as your lead single if you're Rihanna, since there's the expectations her lead singles should go #1. So objectively speaking this has to be the riskiest. I think the risk paid off, it didn't go #1, but it did well nonetheless.

Some of the other songs might be "riskier", but they blew up almost by accident, and the artists probably wouldn't have minded if they missed the top 40 completely (in the case of stuff like Nasty Freestyle, The Hills, all of Fetty Wap's songs).

GOOD FOR YOU! And there's no question.

The Hills.

GFY is nothing like whats "in" right now, its completely different for Selena. The people who worked on it are no hit makers. They're Selena's friends. And everyone on ATRL said "this will not be played on radio or anywhere".
It IS the most risky thing this year. Thats why its successful.

Are people really saying FFS wasn't risky because of the features?

What other top 40 hit songs being played on the radio this year sound like it?

Good For You

The Lords FFS

If someone sees that Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney(!!!) are all on a new song together, obviously that's going to raise eyebrows and get people to check it out. It's a pop song with an obvious hook. It's catchy enough to get played on the radio. That's not risky.

It's a risky song for a new artist, not three A-list musicians.

Earned It. How is FFS winning? yeah it was risky but Earned It is so slow and boring and is the worst kind of R&B out there.

Not that Lana/Lorde/Banks ripoff Good For You being risky in 2015

Definitely The Hills. I wouldn't call any of Fetty's singles risky, but they definitely weren't the type of songs you'd expect to go top 10.

Uptown Funk!

It was a risk that paid off, but it was a risky song. A throwback funk song without a chorus by a producer that hadn't had a proper hit in some time. It's success was pretty impressive in my opinion.

Edit: Out of the stuff on the list. I think I might have to go with Want To Want Me. Talk Dirty was a really successful era for Jason singles-wise, and he changed up his sound a bit for the new one. It's featureless, avoids the urban direction of Talk Dirty, and is nowhere near as hooky.

Lean On and Skrillex Bieber collab, I guess.

Maybe the Weekend's song too.