Adele - Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
7.0/10



This is a concerted effort to be more casual from Adele, and on paper it reads like a disaster: Max Martin, an acoustic guitar, a perky hook, and Adele's voice don't seem like they should go together all that well. And they don't– Send My Love has out-of-place moments, like when her vocals suddenly become layered on top of themselves during the second verse. But she eschews formality with the pleasing chorus, where she attempts to act somewhat playful but really comes across as at ease. It's a tame track, and its massive radio airplay made it seem quite plain. But it gives off a subtle, pleasant rustic vibe.

This position in 2015: Ellie Goulding - On My Mind
This position in 2014: Calvin Harris f/John Newman - Blame

Adele - When We Were Young
7.5/10



The lyricism here is stunning, Adele painting a vivid picture of sorrowful nostalgia. She constructs the song around a majestic if melodramatic chorus, and her vocal performance is nothing short of remarkable. It's all very skillfully done, though its professionalism and formality somewhat undermine its authenticity. And like with Hello, its length bogs it down; the final hook began to elicit a yawn from me once I got over that high note. But it has brilliant moments, like the first two couplets, which are instantly captivating. For this song, I actually prefer the quieter tone she utilizes at the beginning to the theatrical one she transitions to as the song progresses. Nonetheless, When We Were Young's eloquence was unmatched this year.

This position in 2015: Taylor Swift - Wildest Dreams
This position in 2014: Beyoncé f/Jay Z - Drunk In Love

Nick Jonas f/Tove Lo - Close
7.7/10



I loathe the line "space is just a word made up by someone who's afraid to get too close." It's awkward as well as inefficient, and it's downright puzzling why it is featured so prominently. It is thus a testament to how good the remainder of the track is that it even makes an appearance on this list, let alone lands a top 20 placement. Nick doesn't try to come off as overly sultry, and Tove is a perfect fit for the song considering its subject matter. The chorus is appropriately assertive, the verses deliberate and convincing. They also do well with their harmonies, her perpetually serious tone balancing out his still-kinda-immature vocal.

This position in 2015: Selena Gomez f/A$AP Rocky - Good For You
This position in 2014: Taylor Swift - Blank Space

Ariana Grande - Into You
7.6/10



The pulsating verses here are excellent, Ariana's reserved, sexy vocals perfectly complementing the snaps. On the other hand, the hook is nowhere near as magical as Max Martin wanted it to be, the unnecessarily heavy stop-start instrumental stripping it of the intimate beauty the verses hold. It does feel beautifully free, though, Ariana delivering the titular line alluringly. It's a far more natural song for her than anything else on Dangerous Woman, and it ends on a high note– a stunning bridge with gleaming synths that serves as an epic climax for a gripping pop song.

This position in 2015: Jason Derulo - Want To Want Me
This position in 2014: Passenger - Let Her Go

Daya - Hide Away
7.8/10



Unapologetically juvenile and surprisingly fresh, Hide Away is the electro-pop single I never knew I wanted. Daya flourishes in the verses, her innocent vocals backed by a sparse, factory-like synth and a GarageBand drum loop. Admittedly, the unabashedly cheap production distracts somewhat from her writing, but the other strong points of the song are enough to overcome that– like the chorus, where her frank half-annoyance/half-angst is straightforward and effective. Her vocals are clean, and I really like her tone during the pre-chorus. As a whole, Hide Away brilliantly channels teenage naïveté into an enjoyable pop song.

This position in 2015: The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face
This position in 2014: Enrique Iglesias et al. - Bailando (Spanish version)