Best 100 of 2018

Yes, it's that time for our countdown for the best 100 songs of the year. The usual rule of only one song per artist and, as always, this is down to our taste about tracks and commercial success bears no relation to the order.

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100 Josh Groban - Symphony (March)

99 Jorja Smith feat. Stormzy - Let Me Down (January)

98 The Thinking Men - Machine Made Men (April)

97 Sting & Shaggy - Don't Make Me Wait (February)

96 Dan + Shay - All To Myself (May)

95 Spring King - The Hum (July)

94 Natalie Shay - This Feeling (January)

93 Au-Ra - Panic Room (February)

92 Clark Twain - Fly High (Like Richard Branson) (August)

91 Caezar - Hold On (August)

90 Kodaline - Follow Your Fire (March)

89 Albin Lee Meldau - The Weight Is Gone (March)

88 Armin van Buuren feat. Conrad Sewell - Sex, Love & Water (February)

87 Richard Ashcroft - Surprised by the Joy (September)

86 Peking Duk - Wasted (February)

85 Lukas Graham - Love Someone (September)

84 kongsted x Temmpo - Boomerang (February)

83 HUMAN - R_O_B_O_T (April)

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82 Justin Timberlake - Man of the Woods (February)

81 Gathering of Strangers - Nice Hair (June)

80 Ellie Goulding, Diplo, Swae Lee - Close To Me (November)

79 Jade Bird - Lottery (January)

78 Hymner feat. Alessandra – Bicycle (February)

77 Lissie - Best Days (February)

76 Kylie Minogue feat. Gente de Zona - Stop Me from Falling (April)

75 Galaxy Thief - Money! (February)

74 Andy Brown - Talk Of The Town (January)

73 Boyzone - Because (July)

72 Bad Wolves - Zombie (February)

71 Alice Chater - Heartbreak Hotel (July)

70 Kacey Musgraves - High Horse (March)

69 Tokyo Police Club - Hercules (July)

68 Dolores Haze - Banana (July)

67 Hozier feat. Mavis Staples - Nina Cried Power (Edit) (September)

66 Mickey 9s - Soundhaus (March)

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65 Take That - Out Of Our Heads (November)

64 Tom Odell feat. Alice Merton - Half As Good As You (August)

63 Carrie Underwood feat. Ludacris - The Champion (March)

62 Hayley McKay - Chance To Change (March)

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61 Niall Horan - On The Loose (March)

60 Charli XCX & Troye Sivan - 1999 (October)

59 Christine and the Queens - 5 dollars (August)

58 The Wandering Hearts - Biting Through the Wire (February)

57 Lisa Stansfield - Billionaire (March)

56 Lucy Spraggan feat. Scouting For Girls - Stick the Kettle On (September)

55 Luke Yates - Beautiful Mess (November)

54 Coin - Cemetery (November)

53 Dua Lipa - IDGAF (January)

52 lovelytheband - broken (August)

51 Sigala, Ella Eyre, Meghan Trainor feat. French Montana - Just Got Paid (October)

50 David Guetta and Sia - Flames (April)

49 We Are Scientists - One In, One Out (February)

48 Tom Grennan - Sober (January)

47 Kimono Loco - Big Boy (August)

46 Kate Nash - Drink About You (February)

45 Rae Morris - Someone Out There (March)

44 The Fratellis - Starcrossed Losers (February)

43 Ward Thomas - Lie Like Me (July)

42 Train feat. Cam & Travie McCoy - Call Me Sir (August)

41 Sigrid - High Five (May)

40 Panic! At The Disco - High Hopes (August)

39 Halestorm - Do Not Disturb (October)

38 Jason Mraz - Unlonely (June)

37 Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart (November)

36 Little Brother Eli - Oops (November)

35 Sabina Beyli - Last Forever (October)

34 Hafdis Huld - Violet (Tim Gordine Remix) (August)

33 The Vamps - Just My Type (July)

32 The Elation - XO (June)

31 Sheridan Smith - Priceless (September)

30 Kim Wilde - Kandy Krush (March)

29 Ezra Furman - Suck the Blood from My Wound (January)

28 Gabrielle - Shine (July)

27 Binky - Jackie D (March)

26 Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper - Shallow (A Star Is Born) (September)

25 Catherine McGrath - Wild (April)

24 Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa - One Kiss (May)

23 Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B - Finesse (Remix) (January)

22 The Wombats - Turn (April)

21 Jake Shears - Creep City (May)

20 The Shires - Echo (April)

My pick from their most recent album this is country-pop at its best.

19 Girli - Mr 10pm Bedtime (January)

A really catchy pop song with attitude, like a contemporary Pink.

18 The Tailormade - Spinning Around (May)

Taken from a very strong EP this is an incredibly catchy song from a really promising band.

17 Bebe Rexha - I'm a Mess (July)

Her best song yet, a memorable and personal anthem.

16 Ava Max - Sweet but Psycho (August)

Similar to Bebe Rexha, this is a catchy and quirky pop hit.

15 Clean Bandit feat. Demi Lovato - Solo (May)

A massive global hit, this was one of the better songs from Clean Bandit this year.

14 Cam - Diane (February)

Reportedly 'Jolene' from the other angle, this is a brilliant country crossover hit.

13 The Herron Brothers - Stuck in the Sun (June)

One of the best songs off a great album this is a fun, catchy, summer hit.

12 Matt Simons - We Can Do Better (April)

A well written and performed pop hit with a fun story.

11 The Struts feat. Kesha - Body Talks (August)

Glam is back with this rock-pop crossover.

10 Fjokra - Evening Lights (March)

A band that keep releasing great singles this was an early highlight of 2018.

09 George Ezra - Shotgun (June)

Arguably this year's big summer anthem, radio-friendly pop at its best.

08 Hannah Jane Lewis - Aftershock (February)

One of the earliest big hitters of the year, Lewis really hits the emotion in this song.

07 Frank Turner - Make America Great Again (April)

There's always a big political record each year and this was it, a rebuttal to everything wrong about American politics. Maybe Turner should tackle brexit next?

06 Embrace feat. Kerri Watt - Never (January)

A beautiful duet that really hammers the strong lyrics home.

05 Electric Six - Daddy's Boy (September)

A return to the poppier-rock sound of E6 produced this incredibly catchy synth-pop song.

04 Marmozets - Major System Error (January)

From just down the road the rocky sing-able style of this song is brilliant.

03 Spray - Anthologised By Cherry Red (March)

A great pop sound bringing the retro-lyrics to life, this is another very catchy entry.

02 I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME - Do It All The Time (October)

The most recent discovery on this list, I love the quirky production of this song.

01 Vandal Moon feat. Vverevvolf - The Bomb (March)

The one track that I keep coming back to through the year, this 80s-esque album track is just incredible.

KBPS Sound of 2019

On Monday 10th December the BBC will announce the 2019 edition of their long-running 'Sound Of...' poll, which speaks to pundits across various fields in music to find out who they think will make it big in that year, based on artists that have not had top ten singles or albums in the last year or are well known in music.

Previous years have had a good strike rate with Sigrid, Years and Years, Sam Smith, Jessie J, Ellie Goulding, Adele, Mika and Keane being winners in the past.

Here at KBPS we like to take a stab at who we think will do well next year, and though we're not on the BBC's taste makers list and our opinions are based only on our tastes and what we've heard so far, let's have a go at our own 15-strong long list, with acts in alphabetical order...

Cam

Camaron Marvel Ochs, or Cam as she's known, is an American country singer who got lots of airplay with 'Diane', rumoured to be a response to the classic Dolly Parton song 'Jolene'. Recently appearing alongside Train and Travie McCoy on their song 'Call Me Sir' will 2019 be the year country makes a further push into the modern mainstream?

Alice Chater 

With several singles under her belt already, it's the 'Ring My Bell' interpolation of July's 'Heartbreak Hotel' that has got us buzzing. Her pop and RNB crossover sound is popular at the moment.

Coin

Formed in Nashville in 2012, they came to our attention recently with the 'A Christmas Carol' themed 'Cemetery', a catchy slice of indie-pop that sounds very much in the British taste. Will they enjoy success this side of the Atlantic in 2019?

Fjokra

Hailing from Dublin, Fjokra has released a succession of great singles over the last 12 months including 'Bang on the Door' and 'Evening Lights', plus recently 'Sugarface'. The eccentric, excitingly produced songs cross genres and really jump out as something different and interesting.

Franko Fraize

A British rapper from Thetford, Norfolk, he's been bubbling under for a few years on BBC playlists and television shows, but with songs like 'Stop Me', released a month ago with Alex Joseph capturing our imagination, this could be his breakthrough thanks to has fast-paced style like a modern the Streets.

Girli 

English singer and rapper Milly Toomey, AKA Girl, has had several songs released this year and 'Mr 10pm Bedtime' is our favourite. A punky attitude mixed with a catchy poppiness helps her stand out musically, and an image that explodes visually.  

I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

1.9m views of their latest single speaks volumes. This quirky duo hails from Salt Lake City and their eccentrically produced, yet very catchy, pop song echoes 'Panic! At the Disco' crossed with 'Franz Ferdinand'.

Hannah Jane Lewis 

Based in London, her feisty relatable pop songs burst out of your speakers, especially the bouncy, tempo-shifting well-produced 'Aftershock'.

Kimono Loco

One of our lesser known pics, their recent single 'Big Boy' and the EP from which it was taken immediately grabbed us and we definitely want to hear more from this unsigned London band in 2019.

Little Brother Eli

Some songs immediately grab you when you hear them and Little Brother Eli's 'Oops' is one of them. Unsigned and from Oxford we look forward to more from this dark dance four-piece.

lovelytheband

With 14m views on their latest video this Los Angeles pop band formed in 2016 look set for big things with 'Broken' feeling like an anthem for Millennials, picking the darker personality songs of bands like 'Pale Waves'.

The Marmozets

A local band to me from Bingley, West Yorkshire, I've seen them live and their on stage power is every bit as great as their recorded material. Sounding like early Paramore there's plenty of energy in their music. With their second album out now and recent festivals under their belt, what will 2019 bring for them?

Matt Simons

The infectious 'We Can Do Better' has 20m views on YouTube and so it should. Catchy and upbeat, it's a great slice of pop, and Simons has a voice that should prove even bigger in 2019.

The Struts

A band from Derby that had much success over the last few years looks to bringing its sparky glam rock sound to a bigger audience, as showcased by their recent incredible collaboration with Ke$ha. More please!

Kerri Watt

An artist we've be following for several years since her tour of Universities early on in her career, she's recently added to her strong back catalogue with a heartfelt duet with Embrace which she also released an even more powerful solo version of. If there's one artist on this list we'd hope for big things from it's the incredible Kerri Watt.


What do you think of our selection? Have your own choices? Comment below!