These Were The 10 Biggest Songs In The U.S. In 2020

Sales of songs may have been down once again in the U.S. in 2020, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t listening to music! In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Americans have largely opted to switch to streaming platforms to listen to the biggest new smashes and their time-tested favorites, and consumption went way, way up again last year.

In its annual report that details how the music industry is doing and lists the biggest albums and songs in the U.S., Nielsen Music mixes digital sales and streaming data to confirm the most successful tracks, and the latest ranking is dominated by hip-hop and rap, which isn’t surprising at all.

Leading the way among all singles is Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” which also wrapped the year as the longest-running No. 1 on the Hot 100. The cut ended up running the show for 11 nonconsecutive turns, easily outpacing every other release. It moved 7.571 million equivalent units in 2020, outpacing the next-best-performing song by more than a million and a half units. In other words, it wasn’t even close.

Coming in second place among all hit singles in 2020 is The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” which took over the world and never really went away. The R&B/pop/electro hybrid led the Hot 100 for four nonconsecutive turns, and it recently broke the record for the most weeks spent inside the top 10. The cut is still going strong, and this period it returns to the tally at No. 3, extending its record once again. The track moved just over six million equivalent units last year.

All of the tunes that land inside the top five on the ranking of the most-consumed songs of 2020 shifted at least five million equivalent units, while everything that sits just outside that space didn’t quite reach that milestone. Landing at Nos. 3, 4 and 5, respectively are Future and Drake’s “Life Is Good” (the best-performing title that didn’t hit No. 1), DaBaby and Ricch’s “Rockstar” (a seven-week champion on the Hot 100), and Jack Harlow’s “What’s Poppin,” respectively. 

Both Ricch and Megan Thee Stallion are the only artists who were popular enough to score two of the top 10 most successful singles of 2020. Ricch lands a pair of appearances inside the top five, while Stallion’s both sit just below that tier.

At least half of the tracks that appear in this year-end list of the top 10 titles of 2020 can be labeled hip-hop, proving once again that the genre has really taken over. Other styles featured include pure pop and electro-pop.

These were the 10 most-consumed songs in the U.S. in 2020.