Billboard has been having fun these days putting together a list of the 500 best pop songs of all time, according to its criteria. By pop they mean “popular” and, above all, that they have appeared on the Billboard Hot 100, since all types of musical genres have a place on the list, as is evident just by looking at the top 10 positions.
The ranking is crowned by ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ by Whitney Houston, followed at number 2 by ‘Dancing Queen’ by ABBA and at number 3 by ‘My Girl’ by the Temptations. Rounding out the top 5 are ‘I Want It That Way’ by Backstreet Boys and ‘Since U Been Gone’ by Kelly Clarkson, in this order. In the top 10, a recent hit like ‘Call Me Maybe’ by Carly Rae Jepsen appears at number 8 among monster classics by Madonna (‘Like a Prayer’ at number 6) or Michael Jackson (‘Billie Jean’ at number 9). .
Within the top 100 there is no shortage of classics such as ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ by Mariah Carey (97), ‘Mr. Brightside’ by the Killers (90) or ‘Say My Name’ by Destiny’s Child (85), nor macrohits that have recently marked an era like ‘Despacito’ by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee (84) or ‘Blinding Lights’ by The Weeknd ( 79). At this point in the charts, the hits are already as highly recognizable as ‘Rehab’ by Amy Winehouse (73) or ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis (48). Among the most recent, ‘Drivers License’ by Olivia Rodrigo, from 2021, sneaks in at 72.
The list opens, at number 500, with ‘Macarena’ by Los Del Río and effectively includes past classics (‘Say a Little Prayer’ by Dionne Warwick appears at number 430) with other very recent ones, such as ‘Mi gente’ by J Balvin (459). It also has the audacity to include ‘Summertime Sadness’ by Lana Del Rey, but the remix by Cedric Gervais, at 418. Then you can rub shoulders with ‘Hey Jude’ by the Beatles (288) with ‘Boom Clap’ by Charli XCX (226) . Unlike Rolling Stone, Billboard doesn’t hate Céline Dion, who appears at 279 with ‘My Heart Will Go On.’ This is how the top 20 looks:
1.- Whitney Houston — I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
2.- ABBA — Dancing Queen
3.- The Temptations — My Girl
4.- Backstreet Boys — I Want It That Way
5.- Kelly Clarkson — Since U Been Gone
6.- Madonna — Like A Prayer
7.- Michael Jackson – Billie Jean
8.- Carly Rae Japsen — Call Me Maybe
9.- 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre – California Love
10.- The Beatles — I Want to Hold Your Hand
11.- Prince and the Revolution — Kiss
12.- Britney Spears — …Baby One More Time
13.-. Nicki Minaj – Super Bass
14.- OutKast — Hey Ya!
15.- Mariah Carey — Fantasy
16.- Earth, Wind & Fire — September
17.- Fleetwood Mac — Dreams
18.- Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z — Crazy in Love
19.- The Ronettes — Be My Baby
20.- TLC — No Scrubs
