00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the biggest hits that shaped
00:09the last three years of mainstream music. We can already hear some of you saying,
00:12none of these songs are on my playlist. Fair enough. But whether you love modern pop or
00:17avoid it at all costs, there's no denying these tracks dominated charts, social media,
00:22and conversations over the last three years.
00:30Number 10. Golden Hunt Tricks
00:39Nobody saw this one coming, and that's exactly what makes it so special. Born from K-pop Demon
00:44Hunters, an animated Netflix movie about demon-hunting K-pop idols, Golden is a sweeping,
00:49cinematic electropop anthem built around themes of identity, purpose, and finding your power.
01:02Performed by EJ, Audrey Nuna, and Ray Ami as the fictional trio Hunt Tricks, the song topped the
01:07Billboard Global 200, hit number one in over 30 countries, and made Grammy history. Whether you
01:13stumbled across it through the movie, or a social media cover trend, Golden has a way of finding
01:18you. And once it does, good luck getting it out of your head.
01:28Number 9. I Just Might, Bruno Mars
01:38Not every hit needs a grand artistic statement. Sometimes, a song wins simply because it's impossible
01:45not to enjoy. With its glittering disco pop production, irresistible groove, and endlessly
01:50replayable hook, I Just Might delivers exactly what great mainstream pop should.
02:03instant gratification, with enough craftsmanship to keep listeners coming back. The track balances
02:08nostalgia and modernity so seamlessly, that it never feels like a throwback or a trend chase.
02:22Instead, it sounds completely comfortable in its own skin, proving once again that Bruno Mars
02:27knows exactly how to turn a great melody, into a cultural event.
02:35Number 8. Too Sweet, Hozier
02:45Few artists and contemporary music write with the kind of raw, literary depth that Hozier brings to
02:50every project. Too Sweet is almost deceptively simple on the surface. A slow, warm track built
02:56around a deliciously ironic premise.
03:06The narrator and their lover are fundamentally incompatible, because one of them is just too
03:11wholesome for the other's taste. The guitar work is understated and rich, but it's Hozier's
03:16baritone, and his sharp, witty lyricism that truly carried the song.
03:28That the song became such a massive mainstream hit, topping charts in multiple countries, speaks
03:33to how hungry audiences are for music that has something real to say.
03:45Number 7. Padam Padam
03:47Kylie Minogue
03:48Nearly four decades into her career, the Australian icon handed the world a song so infectious,
04:00it practically became inescapable. Padam Padam arrived in 2023, like a perfectly timed gift.
04:07A pulsating, euphoric synth-pop banger, built around one of the most memorable hooks in recent
04:12pop history.
04:13Padam, Padam, I know you'll want to take me home, Padam, and get to know me close, Padam.
04:21With an unbelievably catchy refrain, it lodges itself in your brain with the tenacity of a song
04:26you've known your whole life.
04:27The track became an anthem in LGBTQ plus spaces almost immediately, embraced with the kind
04:32of joy that only the very best dance pop can generate.
04:35Kylie proved once again, without a shadow of a doubt, that she's one of pop's most enduring
04:39and beloved hitmakers.
04:48Number 6. Kill Bill
04:58There's a particular kind of creative courage it takes to write a darkly comedic song about
05:03the obsessive, irrational anger of heartbreak and make it feel genuinely relatable.
05:07SZA pulled it off with breathtaking ease on Kill Bill, a track that references the iconic
05:12Quentin Tarantino film while capturing something universally human, the absurd extremes your
05:25mind goes to when love turns sour.
05:27The tension between the song's beautiful sonic palette and its wickedly dark narrative
05:31is precisely what makes it so compulsively listenable.
05:35SZA has always operated in an emotional grey area, the messy contradictory space where real
05:39feelings live, and Kill Bill might be her most precise articulation of it yet.
05:52Number 5. Die with a Smile
05:54Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
06:04Some collaborations feel engineered for the charts. Die with a Smile feels destined.
06:10It is a stunning, emotionally generous ballad by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.
06:13That plays to both artists' considerable strengths.
06:24Gaga's operatic intensity and Bruno's velvet smooth warmth meet in the middle to create
06:30something genuinely moving. The production is grand without being overwrought, giving the
06:34vocals room to breathe and the emotion space to land.
06:45It's a love song in the truest sense. Not cynical, not ironic, just earnest, aching, and beautiful.
06:52Gaga and Mars delivered one of the most unguarded musical moments of the past few years, and audiences
06:57responded with open arms.
06:59If the world was naked, I'd want to be next to you.
07:06Number 4. Flowers
07:16One of the biggest pop anthems of the decade turned out to be a woman writing herself a
07:20love letter. Flowers by Miley Cyrus arrived like a thunderclap, a glittering, disco-tinged
07:25declaration of self-love that dominated radio, streaming, and social media all at once.
07:38The conversation only grew louder when listeners pointed to its release on her ex-husband Liam
07:43Hemsworth's birthday and noted lyrical parallels to Bruno Mars' When I Was Your Man, fueling
07:48endless speculation about its inspiration. Yet the song's appeal extends far beyond the headlines.
08:02Armed with an instantly memorable chorus and a message of hard-won self-assurance, it transformed
08:07personal heartbreak into a global anthem that earned Miley Cyrus the first Grammy wins of
08:11her career.
08:19Number 3. What Was I Made For
08:21Billie Eilish
08:28Written for the Barbie film's soundtrack, this song starts as a meditation on purpose and identity.
08:34Themes perfectly suited to Barbie's existential arc, and slowly reveals itself to be something
08:38far more personal and profound.
08:48The production is minimal and aching, built around gentle piano, and Eilish's barely there
08:53whisper of a vocal, which somehow conveys more emotion than most singers achieve at full volume.
09:04Naturally, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
09:07Beyond the accolades, it became an anthem for anyone who has ever questioned their place
09:11in the world, giving voice to a quiet uncertainty that most people spend their lives trying to answer.
09:17Something I'm Made For
09:22Number 2. Good Luck Babe
09:25Chapel Rhone
09:26It's fine, it's cool
09:30You can say that we ain't nothing, but you know the truth
09:34She's your favorite artist, favorite artist for a reason.
09:37Built on a soaring melodic structure, Chapel Rhone's Good Luck Babe tells the story of someone
09:42watching a person they love choose the comfortable lie of heteronormativity
09:45over the more complicated truth of who they really are.
09:55The emotional specificity is staggering.
09:58This isn't a vague breakup anthem, but a song with a precise, painful point of view
10:02that Rhone delivers with jaw-dropping vocal power.
10:13That chorus hits like a wall of feeling every single time, and the lyrics walk the razor's
10:18edge between bitterness and compassion without ever tipping too far in either direction.
10:22It's equal parts camp and catharsis, and entirely brilliant.
10:32Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:36The Fate of Ophelia, Taylor Swift
10:38It reminded us why she remains one of the most evocative storytellers in the game.
10:42Be the sleepless night you've been cheating in all
10:46The fate of Ophelia
10:50Boys a Liar Part 2
10:51Pink Pantherous and Ice Spice
10:53A breathless collision of bubblegum pop and New York attitude that feels irresistible
10:58He doesn't see us
10:59You're not making anyone
11:04Man I Need
11:06Olivia Dean
11:06A bouncy anthem for knowing your worth
11:09You're the time and the place
11:11So don't be shy
11:12Just come be the man I need
11:15Olivia Rodrigo
11:18A gothic rock bop that had everyone singing along
11:21I've made some real big mistakes
11:24But you make the worst
11:26One looks fine, I shouldn't know
11:30Harry Styles
11:31A hypnotic electronic track that took over the charts
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11:52Are you not entertained?
11:55Number 1. Espresso
11:57Sabrina Carpenter
12:04This is the song that arguably owned pop music more completely than any other track of the past three years
12:09Sabrina Carpenter had been building toward a moment like this for years
12:13Steadily honing her craft, sharpening her wit, and developing a pop sensibility that felt both classic and distinctly her own
12:20Our own vacation
12:22And I got this one, boy
12:24And he won't stop calling
12:27Espresso was the song where all of that crystallized into something irresistible
12:31A bright confection built around wordplay so charming, it practically winks at you
12:42The Bouncy production was immediately infectious
12:44But it was Carpenter's effortless delivery that turned a great pop song into a genuine cultural phenomenon
12:58Which song from the last three years has been living rent-free in your head?
13:01Let us know in the comments
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