Top songs of 2012

What was the number one song of 2012?

The number one song of 2012 was “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye featuring Kimbra, the top song on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 for 2012. It spent 8 weeks at number one on the weekly chart, starting with the chart dated April 28, 2012.

“Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen and “One More Night” by Maroon 5 were each number one for 9 weeks of 2012, the most of any song that year.

Born in 2012? The birthday number one finder shows the song at number one in the exact week of your birthday, and the number one on every birthday since.

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 2012, year-end Hot 100 of 2012).

How many songs reached number one in 2012?

12 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 2012. Counting “We Found Love”, which was already at number one when the year began, 13 songs held the top spot across the year's 52 weekly charts.

Of the songs that first reached number one in 2012, “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen stayed there longest: 9 weeks in total, from the chart dated June 23, 2012.

Weeks at No. 1 counts every week the song spent at the top, including weeks in other years; the number in brackets is the weeks on charts dated 2012. Dates are chart issue dates.

Which artists had more than one number one in 2012?

Rihanna was the only act with more than one number one in 2012, counting lead and featured credits: “We Found Love” and “Diamonds”.

What were the biggest songs of 2012?

The five biggest songs of 2012 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 were “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye featuring Kimbra, “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, “We Are Young” by Fun featuring Janelle Monáe, “Payphone” by Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa and “Lights” by Ellie Goulding.

The year-end chart ranks songs by how they performed on the weekly Hot 100 across Billboard’s chart year, so a song that peaked late in the year can rank lower than its weekly peak suggests, or count toward the next year’s list. The top 30 below show each song’s length where we could match the recording.

Numbers 31 to 100

31. “Part of Me” Katy Perry
32. “Young, Wild & Free” Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa featuring Bruno Mars
33. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” Taylor Swift
34. “As Long as You Love Me” Justin Bieber featuring Big Sean
35. “Turn Me On” David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj
36. “Moves like Jagger” Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera
37. “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” Pink
38. “Good Time” Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen
39. “Give Your Heart a Break” Demi Lovato
40. “Niggas in Paris” Jay-Z and Kanye West
41. “The One That Got Away” Katy Perry
42. “Feel So Close” Calvin Harris
43. “Someone like You” Adele
44. “Scream” Usher
45. “Rack City” Tyga
46. “Domino” Jessie J
47. “Gangnam Style” Psy
48. “International Love” Pitbull featuring Chris Brown
49. “Home” Phillip Phillips
50. “Without You” David Guetta featuring Usher
51. “Ass Back Home” Gym Class Heroes featuring Neon Hitch
52. “Wanted” Hunter Hayes
53. “Drunk on You” Luke Bryan
54. “No Lie” 2 Chainz featuring Drake
55. “Want U Back” Cher Lloyd
56. “Don't Wake Me Up” Chris Brown
57. “Dance (Ass)” Big Sean featuring Nicki Minaj
58. “Springsteen” Eric Church
59. “Brokenhearted” Karmin
60. “Not Over You” Gavin DeGraw
61. “Stereo Hearts” Gym Class Heroes featuring Adam Levine
62. “Back in Time” Pitbull
63. “Work Out” J. Cole
64. “Rumour Has It” Adele
65. “Let's Go” Calvin Harris featuring Ne-Yo
66. “Good Girl” Carrie Underwood
67. “Pontoon” Little Big Town
68. “Ho Hey” The Lumineers
69. “Paradise” Coldplay
70. “Blown Away” Carrie Underwood
71. “Rolling in the Deep” Adele
72. “Climax” Usher
73. “Work Hard, Play Hard” Wiz Khalifa
74. “Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)” Ne-Yo
75. “Pound the Alarm” Nicki Minaj
76. “Come Over” Kenny Chesney
77. “Heart Attack” Trey Songz
78. “Drank in My Cup” Kirko Bangz
79. “Birthday Cake” Rihanna featuring Chris Brown
80. “So Good” B.o.B
81. “50 Ways to Say Goodbye” Train
82. “Red Solo Cup” Toby Keith
83. “Love You Like a Love Song” Selena Gomez & the Scene
84. “Turn Up the Music” Chris Brown
85. “Die Young” Kesha
86. “5 O'Clock” T-Pain featuring Wiz Khalifa and Lily Allen
87. “A Thousand Years” Christina Perri
88. “Take a Little Ride” Jason Aldean
89. “You da One” Rihanna
90. “We Run the Night” Havana Brown featuring Pitbull
91. “It's Time” Imagine Dragons
92. “Cashin' Out” Cash Out
93. “I Don't Want This Night to End” Luke Bryan
94. “Diamonds” Rihanna
95. “Hard to Love” Lee Brice
96. “Somethin' 'Bout a Truck” Kip Moore
97. “Adorn” Miguel
98. “Fly Over States” Jason Aldean
99. “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” Eli Young Band
100. “Burn It Down” Linkin Park

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 2012, year-end Hot 100 of 2012).

What songs should go on a 2012 mix CD?

A 2012 mix that fits one 80-minute CD holds 20 of the year's biggest songs, opening with “Payphone” by Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa and closing with “It Will Rain” by Bruno Mars, for 75:21 of music.

We built it from the year-end top 30 and every number one of 2012, taking songs in year-end order until the disc was full, then sequenced it to follow the year: the number ones in the order they reached the top, with the year’s other big hits placed between them. With a 2-second gap before each track it runs 76:01, under the 79 minutes we fill a CD to.

Lengths are the recordings matched in Deezer’s catalog. Single edits, album versions and remasters can run a little longer or shorter, so check your own playlist before you burn it.

Turn 2012 into a CD. Send us this list, or your own 2012 songs, and we burn it to a real audio CD, test-play it and post it. It makes a good gift for a birth year, a graduation year or a wedding year.

To change the songs, paste the list into the playlist length calculator to keep it under 80 minutes, then print an insert with the CD case template. Our guide to making a mixtape covers sequencing, and nostalgic gift ideas has more ways to give a year as a present.

What was popular music like in the 2010s?

Popular music in the 2010s moved from electronic dance-pop to hip-hop and streaming-era pop as listening shifted to streaming services. By 2013 the Hot 100 counted streaming alongside sales and airplay.

From 2010 to 2019, 116 songs reached number one on the Hot 100, and 14 songs stayed there for 10 weeks or more. Of those 116, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey spent the most weeks at number one: 21 in total. Rihanna had the most number ones that reached the top in these years, with 9. The typical number one of these years ran 3:41 (the median of the 90 with a known length).