The top ten gets a pair of new entries: Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do” vaults from #36 to #8 in its second week, while just below at #9, Kelly Clarkson scores the week’s highest debut with “Heartbeat Song.” Three more of last week’s debuts are the week’s biggest movers — Echosmith’s “Bright” ties Goulding with a 28-position jump for “Bright” (up 82-54), Bea Miller’s “Fire N Gold” jumps from #50 to #26, and Taylor Swift scores her highest-charting 1989 single yet with “Style” (up 42-23). XOV, who just missed the top 100 last fall with Hunger Games track “Animal,” scores three debuts this week from his Lucifer EP: the title track at #41, “Chaos” at #88, and “Blood Honey” at #100. Mickey Guyton’s “Better Than You Left Me” re-enters the chart, while Charli XCX featuring Rita Ora, HISTORY, and Zac Brown Band all make their way onto the chart.

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The top three are stagnant this week, but just below, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars slide up three spots to #4 in their second week on the chart with “Uptown Funk,” while One Direction scores their second top-ten placement this album cycle as “Night Changes” vaults from #33 to #8. And while 1D scores several debuts upon the release of new album FOUR, it’s Sinclair who scores the top debut, with “Heaven On Earth” entering at #45 under a big #58-#30 jump for “The World Is Ours.” In addition to One Direction’s five debuts, new entries include chart newcomers Tor Miller and I Know Leopard, as well as new debuts from Sinclair, Lifehouse, and Nick Jonas. Kelly Clarkson also scores the first seasonal song to enter the chart this year, as “Wrapped In Red” debuts at #92. It’s the title track and first song to chart from her 2013 holiday album, since my chart went on hiatus late last year – her last song to chart was “Tie It Up,” which peaked at #35 last fall.

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These are one hundred songs that stayed in my heavy rotation throughout 2013. In a year that saw personal advancements including eight weeks studying abroad in France and graduation from college, these songs soundtracked my year, each song appealing to me through instrumentation, lyrics, or just its overall mood. Read on for descriptions of each track, access the whole playlist on SoundCloud to listen, and judge away.
Continue reading “Kurt’s 100 Favorite Songs of 2013”