The Hit Songs Deconstructed Wire

The State of the Hot 100 Top 10: 2025 Year in Review

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A First Look at HSD’s 2025 Year-End Report

Hit Songs Deconstructed releases an annual year-end report that features detailed analysis of Billboard Hot 100’s top 10 hits.

This report looks at trends relating to genres, influences, tempo, key, lyrical themes, instruments, structure and more, helping you to proactively stay in tune with what’s on the rise, what’s in decline, and how the hit song landscape is rapidly evolving.


Overview

During 2025, 64 songs charted in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, with 7 hitting the top spot.

Behind them were 36 performing artists, 178 credited songwriters, 102 credited producers and 10 record labels.

Shaping their sound and vibe were 6 primary genres, 31 sub-genres and influences, 25 prominent instruments, and 8 lyrical themes.


Pop Back On Top

Pop notably rebounded in 2025 after generally declining since 2020. While its resurgence was largely driven by Taylor Swift, other artists contributing two or more pop hits included Chappell Roan (two), HUNTR/X (two), Saja Boys (two), and Sabrina Carpenter (four, plus one as a featured artist on Taylor Swift’s "The Life Of A Showgirl").


Rise In Acoustic-Sounding Drums
Songs featuring primarily acoustic-sounding drums continued to rise for the third straight year in 2025, surpassing those with primarily electronic-sounding drums for the first time since 2014. Appearing in 42% of songs, their use spanned multiple genres, including pop, country, R&B/soul, and rock.


Hookier Hits
The inclusion of a post-chorus “hook center” continued to rise for the third straight year, accounting for 63% of Hot 100 top 10 hits in 2025 - its highest level in over a decade.


What else shaped the Hot 100 Top 10 during 2025?

Download the Report Preview with free highlights from The State of the Hot 100 Top 10: 2025 Year-End Report!


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