Top songs of 2016

What was the number one song of 2016?

The number one song of 2016 was “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber, the top song on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 for 2016. It spent 2 weeks at number one on the weekly chart, starting with the chart dated February 13, 2016.

“Closer” by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey was number one for the most weeks of 2016: 12 of the year's 53 weekly charts, starting with the chart dated September 3, 2016.

Born in 2016? 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 2016, year-end Hot 100 of 2016).

How many songs reached number one in 2016?

10 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 2016. Counting “Hello”, which was already at number one when the year began, 11 songs held the top spot across the year's 53 weekly charts.

Of the songs that first reached number one in 2016, “Closer” by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey stayed there longest: 12 weeks in total, from the chart dated September 3, 2016.

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 2016. Dates are chart issue dates.

Which artists had more than one number one in 2016?

2 acts had more than one number one in 2016, counting lead and featured credits. Drake and Justin Bieber had 2 each.

• Drake: “Work” and “One Dance”
• Justin Bieber: “Sorry” and “Love Yourself”

What were the biggest songs of 2016?

The five biggest songs of 2016 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 were “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber, “Sorry” by Justin Bieber, “One Dance” by Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla, “Work” by Rihanna featuring Drake and “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots.

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. “What Do You Mean?” Justin Bieber
32. “The Hills” The Weeknd
33. “Just Like Fire” P!nk
34. “Broccoli” DRAM featuring Lil Yachty
35. “Don't” Bryson Tiller
36. “Dangerous Woman” Ariana Grande
37. “Jumpman” Drake and Future
38. “I Hate U, I Love U” Gnash featuring Olivia O'Brien
39. “Here” Alessia Cara
40. “Same Old Love” Selena Gomez
41. “Controlla” Drake
42. “Like I'm Gonna Lose You” Meghan Trainor featuring John Legend
43. “One Call Away” Charlie Puth
44. “Let It Go” James Bay
45. “No” Meghan Trainor
46. “Never Forget You” Zara Larsson and MNEK
47. “Let Me Love You” DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber
48. “Don't Mind” Kent Jones
49. “H.O.L.Y.” Florida Georgia Line
50. “We Don't Talk Anymore” Charlie Puth featuring Selena Gomez
51. “Into You” Ariana Grande
52. “Gold” Kiiara
53. “Exchange” Bryson Tiller
54. “679” Fetty Wap featuring Remy Boyz
55. “Oui” Jeremih
56. “Hands to Myself” Selena Gomez
57. “2 Phones” Kevin Gates
58. “Starboy” The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
59. “For Free” DJ Khaled featuring Drake
60. “Never Be Like You” Flume featuring Kai
61. “In the Night” The Weeknd
62. “Me Too” Meghan Trainor
63. “Ex's & Oh's” Elle King
64. “Die a Happy Man” Thomas Rhett
65. “White Iverson” Post Malone
66. “Close” Nick Jonas featuring Tove Lo
67. “Unsteady” X Ambassadors
68. “Sucker for Pain” Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa and Imagine Dragons with Logic and Ty Dolla Sign featuring X Ambassadors
69. “Down in the DM” Yo Gotti featuring Nicki Minaj
70. “Luv” Tory Lanez
71. “Sorry” Beyoncé
72. “Can't Feel My Face” The Weeknd
73. “Hymn for the Weekend” Coldplay
74. “Say It” Tory Lanez
75. “Antidote” Travis Scott
76. “Lost Boy” Ruth B
77. “Side to Side” Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
78. “Sit Still, Look Pretty” Daya
79. “Wildest Dreams” Taylor Swift
80. “Middle” DJ Snake featuring Bipolar Sunshine
81. “On My Mind” Ellie Goulding
82. “Pop Style” Drake featuring Jay-Z and Kanye West
83. “When We Were Young” Adele
84. “Hide Away” Daya
85. “Lean On” Major Lazer and DJ Snake featuring MØ
86. “I Know What You Did Last Summer” Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello
87. “All the Way Up” Fat Joe and Remy Ma featuring French Montana and Infared
88. “Watch Me” Silentó
89. “Back to Sleep” Chris Brown
90. “No Limit” Usher featuring Young Thug
91. “Cut It” O.T. Genasis featuring Young Dolph
92. “Really Really” Kevin Gates
93. “All In My Head (Flex)” Fifth Harmony featuring Fetty Wap
94. “Starving” Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd
95. “Adventure of a Lifetime” Coldplay
96. “Humble and Kind” Tim McGraw
97. “Wicked” Future
98. “Tiimmy Turner” Desiigner
99. “See You Again” Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth
100. “Perfect” One Direction

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 2016, year-end Hot 100 of 2016).

What songs should go on a 2016 mix CD?

A 2016 mix that fits one 80-minute CD holds 21 of the year's biggest songs, opening with “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots and closing with “Hotline Bling” by Drake, for 77:00 of music.

We built it from the year-end top 30 and every number one of 2016, 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 77:42, 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 2016 into a CD. Send us this list, or your own 2016 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).