History WMG / ToddInTheShadowsYearEnd

This is a special sub-page for all of the predictions relating to Todd's year-end lists.

There were three songs that made the Worst list that nobody predicted: [[spoiler: "K-Pop" by Travis Scott ft. Bad Bunny and The Weeknd at #10, "Can't Have Mine" by Dylan Scott at #6, and "Slime You Out" by Drake featuring SZA at #3]], as well as two dishonorable mentions: [[spoiler: "Golden Hour" by JVKE and "Watermelon Moonshine" by Lainey Wilson.]]

** [[spoiler: Confirmed #8; along with "Slime You Out" with SZA (which wasn't even predicted) being confirmed #3.]]

* "Cinderella Snapped" by Jax: He put "Victoria's Secret" on his "Worst of 2022", and [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1631755182970396674 he tweeted]] negatively on the song and being a ShallowParody of Disney Princesses.
** [[spoiler: Jossed.]]

** [[spoiler: Confirmed #8.]]

* "[[Music/OneDirection One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)]]" by One Direction: In his review of "Best Song Ever", he calls Teenage Kicks a butchering of a [[Music/{{Blondie}} classic song]].

*** "… I don't get it."

* “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran: He said on Twitter that he was starting to really, genuinely loathe it and called it without question his worst song. Not helped by the fact that it was #2 on the charts behind Uptown Funk for eight weeks.

* "Me Too" by Meghan Trainor: It’s an obnoxious “gangsta” ego trip trying to sound like a self-confidence number, and it has the same bassline as “Scream and Shout” or "Dirty Bit", which is a very bad thing in Todd’s book. Not helping at all is that ''Jason Derulo'' had writing credit on it.

* "Houdini" by Dua Lipa (peaked at #11): When Todd's ''Song vs. Song'' cohost Lina lamented this track's quick fall from grace, he responded [[https://x.com/ShadowTodd/status/1729550054753538343?s=20 rather negatively]], though since he admitted to [[https://x.com/ShadowTodd/status/1729550806452506892?s=20 liking the production]], it probably won't rank high, if it even makes the list at all.

* "Dance the Night" and "Houdini" by Dua Lipa (the former was #35 on Billboard's Year-End list, the latter currently at #11): In regards to the former, this Mark Ronson-produced track's theme of partying through sadness could fall into a similar camp as the dark party songs he's liked in the past. And for the latter, he hasn't talked much on it yet but an energetic song about singularity is one that might bring some intrigue. That said, he has not put anything by Dua Lipa on his Best list since "New Rules" in 2018 and complained last year that the radio was over-satured with good-but-not-great Dua Lipa songs. It's well possible Todd will have grown sick of Dua Lipa by the end of 2023 and instead consider them more of creatively stagnant disappointments - not helped by the former's blatant similarity to "Levitating" (which Todd said he never even considered for the Best list) - than delightful disco throwbacks.

* "Greedy" by Tate [=McRae=] (peaked at #11): He commented [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1724319710039437411 on Twitter]] that after imitating Music/BillieEilish on "You Broke Me First" and Music/OliviaRodrigo on "She's All I Wanna Be", [=McRae=] was like "What if I just worked it really hard", which helps in the song's favor.

* "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen (#1 on Billboard's Year-End list): He said it might be his [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1625538890101833728?s=20&t=2j2SHjLMz_R62vlpmhNrZA "least favorite of Morgan Wallen's songs by a lot,"]] even saying he would rather listen to Up Down- which for context was his breakthrough hit from 2018 that featured ''Florida Georgia Line.'' Based on his scathing Pop Song Review of the track comparing it to Maroon 5 and ranking it dead last among its parent album's 36 tracks, not to mention his [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1644242782045831168?s=20 fury]] at its [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1644244127952035841?s=20 continued success]], expect it to place ''very'' high on the Worst list.

** The other four highlighted, "[=F2F=]", "Special", "Gone Girl" and "Ghost in the Machine" (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) (peaked at #55, #37, #43 and #40 respectively) could appear on the list proper or be honorable mentions.

** The other four highlighted, "[=F2F=]", "Special", "Gone Girl" and "Ghost in the Machine" (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) are all possibilities for honorable mentions.

* "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals (currently at #7): [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1383156616741068800 Todd has hinted at not liking it and even put the song on the same camp as SHAED's "Trampoline"]], which was #3 on his Worst list for 2019.

* "Staying Alive" by DJ Khaled ft. Drake and Lil Baby (currently at #5): Todd called it a [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1559580415534309376 "pretty big turd"]] on Twitter. Expect him to criticize its lazy sample of the Bee Gees song of the same name.

* "Under the Influence" by Chris Brown (currently at #17): He's ''still'' not gone, even though like Sia's "Unstoppable", this is a 2010s song that got popular later thanks to [=TikTok=].

* "Dance the Night" and "Houdini" by Dua Lipa (the former was #35 on Billboard's Year-End list): In regards to the former, this Mark Ronson-produced track's theme of partying through sadness could fall into a similar camp as the dark party songs he's liked in the past. And for the latter, he hasn't talked much on it yet but an energetic song about singularity is one that might bring some intrigue. That said, he has not put anything by Dua Lipa on his Best list since "New Rules" in 2018 and complained last year that the radio was over-satured with good-but-not-great Dua Lipa songs. It's well possible Todd will have grown sick of Dua Lipa by the end of 2023 and instead consider them more of creatively stagnant disappointments - not helped by the former's blatant similarity to "Levitating" (which Todd said he never even considered for the Best list) - than delightful disco throwbacks.

* "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus (peaked at #1): Todd expressed [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1614819994797510658?s=20&t=hsSl7CfclQrDxOzImZpJ0w major]] [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1614820560164524032?s=20&t=hsSl7CfclQrDxOzImZpJ0w disapproval]] towards the song, saying it would be a [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1614826007726522368?s=20&t=hsSl7CfclQrDxOzImZpJ0w tragedy]] if it denied "Kill Bill" the #1 spot. However, he later clarified that he [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1619014284486512642 didn't actually dislike it]], so chances are good that it only makes it due to overplay, if at all. Todd later stated in the "Song Vs. Song" podcast that he was still not very fond of the song though he stated he found it mediocre though he didn't hate it.

* "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen (peaked at #1): He said it might be his [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1625538890101833728?s=20&t=2j2SHjLMz_R62vlpmhNrZA "least favorite of Morgan Wallen's songs by a lot,"]] even saying he would rather listen to Up Down- which for context was his breakthrough hit from 2018 that featured ''Florida Georgia Line.'' Based on his scathing Pop Song Review of the track comparing it to Maroon 5 and ranking it dead last among its parent album's 36 tracks, not to mention his [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1644242782045831168?s=20 fury]] at its [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1644244127952035841?s=20 continued success]], expect it to place ''very'' high on the Worst list.

* "Thank God" by Kane and Katelyn Brown (peaked at #13): Despite how favorable Todd was towards country last year, this song isn't one he's likely to enjoy, and it's possible he could blend it into the same mold as Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani's "Nobody but You", which made his 2020 Worst list.

* "Players" by Coi Leray (peaked at #9): Another lazy sample track akin to "Big Energy", this time of "[[Music/GrandmasterFlashAndTheFuriousFive The Message]]", which, like "Genius of Love" before it, was already the basis of two previous [[Music/IceCube hit]] [[Music/SeanCombs songs]]. Todd mentioned in [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1672316239342096384 a response tweet]] to WebVideo/SpectrumPulse's [[https://twitter.com/SpectrumPulse/status/1672267527970254848 tweet]] about Coi Leray's sample flips that they are terrible for reasons beyond their obviousness, ensuring this could make the list.

* "Search and Rescue" by Drake (peaked at #2): Aside from Todd potentially being fatigued by Drake after many years, he said the line "I know I'm a pit bull, but dale, mami" [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1659023102377066497 was worse than any line Pitbull ever wrote]], making that a candidate for his worst two seconds of the year.

* "Vampire" by Olivia Rodrigo (peaked at #1): While he admired many of Olivia's previous songs, he called her lead single on her sophomore album a [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1674663849193250816?s=20 disaster]] claiming [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1674666025563074561?s=20 it has no hook and a retread of her work on her debut album]]. Todd did state though that his impressions could change later though on the "Song Vs. Song" podcast, he admitted he still hated the song. As he asked his viewers their picks for the [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1689753448617570304 worst two seconds in pop music of 2023]] through August, there were quite a few replies citing the "fame fucker" line.

* "Karma" by Taylor Swift featuring Ice Spice (peaked at #2): He questioned how Ice Spice [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1668692959267786752 was such a welcome addition to "Boy's a liar" as mentioned below and such a terrible addition to this]]. He said [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1668732739603005441 the song itself was fine]] but couldn't understand how Ice Spice made it worse. So while it likely won't be on either list proper, the duet version could potentially be a dishonorable mention for that alone.

* "Try That In A Small Town" by Jason Aldean (peaked at #1): The blatantly jingoistic lyrics that have been interpreted as being pro-lynching will horrify Todd, making it a shoe in for #1 spot, just like "Am I The Only One?" in 2021.
* "Rich Men North of Richmond" by Oliver Anthony (peaked at #1): On that note, another Republican anthem that whinges about the same topics as other songs in that vein, which is likely to end up on the video in some fashion. Though Anthony's genuinely great singing voice could be the song's one saving grace for Todd. He went in detail about how Oliver Anthony is from [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1692368852636561422 Farmville, Virginia]], a place he's known well, ultimately concluding that someone [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1692371736015049189?s=20 should try to find out what he thinks about these topics which should be pretty close to home for him]]. Todd also thinks [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1694199992259326216 that the song got big through chart manipulation]] so expect him to bring that up when discussing the song.
* "Daylight" by David Kushner (peaked at #33): Labeled by quite a few as a ripoff of Hozier - and Todd hated "Take Me to Church" in 2014 - this track isn't likely to land in his good graces.

* "Seven" by Jungkook featuring Latto (peaked at #1): As Todd asked his viewers for their picks for the [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1689753448617570304 worst two seconds of 2023]], there were a handful of replies stating the line "I’ll be fucking you right". And it features Latto of "Big Energy", which he hated, and her verse even calls back to it.

* "[=F2F=]", "Special", "Gone Girl", "Nobody Gets Me", or "Ghost in the Machine" (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) by SZA: In the 2022 Best list, Todd said ''SOS'' was released too late in the year for him to work into the top 10, so [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1606752278509228035?s=20&t=euKe9IuBZ7hoKFcmqEo9uA expect at least one song]] from the album to make his 2023 list instead. He specifically [[https://twitter.com/shadowtodd/status/1617017974405361664?s=46&t=CEdvj8hlTC0oI9iXe2OaLg singled]] [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1617018737093390336?s=20&t=G39UWUNs3Pr7ppO3YZqQMg out]] these five tracks as his favorites.
* "Escapism" by RAYE (peaked at #22): This late '90s/early 2000s trip hop throwback has received immense acclaim.
* "Bzrp Music Sessions Vol. 53" by Bizarrap and Shakira (peaked at #9): He called it [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1619009455554965505?s=20&t=mKnz5cIBTb3KuC7EDP7mFA "actual hot shit"]] compared to the celebrity breakup drama in "Flowers."
* "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" by [=PinkPantheress=] feat. Ice Spice (peaked at #3): Although Todd compared it to [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1630624862686572544?s=20 Sega Genesis]] music, he [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1630634149617995776?s=20 did not mean it as an insult]].
* "Lavender Haze" by Taylor Swift (peaked at #2 in 2022 and #11 in 2023): Given the high praise Todd had for its predecessor, which topped his best list last year, it's easy to see this going over good with him too and could end up on the list this time after it didn't then.
* "CUFF IT" and "America Has a Problem" by Beyoncé, the latter with the remix featuring Kendrick Lamar: The former falls into the same mold as "Lavender Haze" as mentioned above. For the latter, Todd has been extremely favorable towards both Beyoncé's ''Renaissance'' era and Kendrick Lamar in general, so this would be very likely to end up on the list.

* "What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish (peaked at #14): Regardless on what Todd's opinion on the highly hyped ''[[Film/Barbie2023 Barbie]]'' movie could be, this song about Billie contemplating on her purpose in the world is one that could resonate with Todd, especially since he is still a huge fan of Billie and feels she's at her best when she "lets things sit in devastating silence" which the song fits into.

* "Cupid" by Fifty Fifty (peaked at #17): He has called the song [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1642319221882519552?s=20 "quite lovely"]], though he wasn't specific on the original or the twin version (and might have been referring to both).

* "Cruel Summer" by Taylor Swift (currently at #1): He tweeted that after spending three years not seeing the big deal with the song and finding it overrated, he "[[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1678813738047242241?s=20 now gets it fully]] and can't tell [you] how fucking pissed off [he is] about that". In response to [[https://twitter.com/SpectrumPulse/status/1678817193369169930 Spectrum Pulse's tweet jokingly suggesting]] that he considered Lover wasn't that bad at all, Todd [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1678818888992329728?s=20 admitted that he couldn't appreciate the song having mostly listened to it in the context of the album]], which he didn't like.

* "Chemical" and "Mourning" by Post Malone: Post Malone's "AUSTIN" album has received a noticeable amount of acclaim, including these two tracks.
* "I Remember Everything" by Zach Bryan ft. Kacey Musgraves (peaked at #1): After a summer dominated by country music discourse, Todd may see this as a welcome alternative that resonates with his recent feelings about getting older.

* "Paint the Town Red" by Doja Cat (peaked at #1): In the 2023 MTV [=VMAs=] special edition of ''Podcast/SongVsSong'', Todd said he likes the song, but he doesn't consider it amazing, compared to...

* "Just Wanna Rock" by Lil Uzi Vert (peaked at #10): Todd enjoyed "XO Tour [=Llif3=]" in 2017, but hasn't really spoken much on Lil Uzi Vert since. The over-usage of the song in sports coverage could hurt or help its case, too, whereas it did the latter with “A Sky Full of Stars” in 2014.
* "Die for You" by The Weeknd, with the remix featuring Ariana Grande (peaked at #1): As mentioned before, Todd overall enjoys The Weeknd but hasn't been huge on some of his slower hits, and he's commented on the song being a bigger hit than anything from ''Dawn FM''. And he might not be huge on it being another remix with Ariana Grande that hit #1.
* "Calm Down" by REMA featuring Selena Gomez (peaked at #3): Todd has made his distaste for Selena Gomez very clear, but this song's overall reception has been pretty good. He even [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1658133809022345217 asked his Twitter followers for their thoughts on it]] to mostly positive responses.

* "Fast Car" by Luke Combs (peaked at #2): He [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1666165623624433664?s=20 called the cover "thoroughly unnecessary"]] and didn't get its popularity, but said he "would never complain about a good singer singing a good song".
* “All My Life” by Lil Durk featuring J Cole (peaked at #2): As with “Calm Down” above, he [[https://twitter.com/shadowtodd/status/1671237668532006920?s=46&t=q4ZL3OwpSh6hPAVbNH7kqA asked his followers on Twitter for opinions on it]], albeit to mostly mixed responses. While there's certainly stuff to like about it, there are factors that might be turnoffs, such as the children's choir on the hook, and a Dr. Luke production credit.
* "Dance the Night" and "Houdini" by Dua Lipa (former peaked at #6): In regards to the former, this Mark Ronson-produced track's theme of partying through sadness could fall into a similar camp as the dark party songs he's liked in the past. And for the latter, he hasn't talked much on it yet but an energetic song about singularity is one that might bring some intrigue. That said, he has not put anything by Dua Lipa on his Best list since "New Rules" in 2018 and complained last year that the radio was over-satured with good-but-not-great Dua Lipa songs. It's well possible Todd will have grown sick of Dua Lipa by the end of 2023 and instead consider them more of creatively stagnant disappointments - not helped by the former's blatant similarity to "Levitating" (which Todd said he never even considered for the Best list) - than delightful disco throwbacks.
* "Eyes Closed" by Ed Sheeran (peaked at #19): Sheeran has had a mix of both good and bad for Todd, so this could end up on either of those sides.
* "Creepin'" by Metro Boomin featuring The Weeknd & 21 Savage (peaked at #3): Todd said in his "[[Music/LukeCombs Fast Car]]" review that while The Weeknd does improve on the original "I Don't Wanna Know" by being a better singer than Mario Winans, he'd be perfectly happy never hearing it again, and that he doesn't feel like anyone was really enthusiastic about remaking it. Also of note, Todd had the original song as the credits music for his "Worst of 2004" list, so "Creepin'" could also be a possible contender for this year's Worst list credits music.

* "God Gave Me a Girl" by Russell Dickerson: Its chart performance isn't impressive, but considering Todd's vocal hatred for Russell Dickerson, he may mention this track, anyway.
* "Lil Boo Thang" by Paul Russell: Yet another lazy and super short sampling song, this one of "Best of My Love" by The Emotions. Not much more to it than that.

* "Greedy" by Tate [=McRae=] (peaked at #11): He commented [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1724319710039437411 on Twitter]] that after imitating Music/BillieEilish on "You Broke Me First" and then an Music/OliviaRodrigo on "She's All I Wanna Be", [=McRae=] was like "What if I just worked it really hard", which helps in the song's favor.

* "Greedy" by Tate [=McRae=] (peaked at #11): He commented [[https://twitter.com/ShadowTodd/status/1724319710039437411 on Twitter]] that after imitating Music/BillieEilish on "You Broke Me First and then an Music/OliviaRodrigo on "She's All I Wanna Be", [=McRae=] was like "What if I just worked it really hard", which helps in the song's favor.

* "Dance the Night" by Dua Lipa (peaked at #6): Regardless on what Todd's opinion on the highly hyped ''[[Film/Barbie2023 Barbie]]'' movie could be, this Mark Ronson-producd track's theme of partying through sadness could fall into a similar camp as the dark party songs he's liked in the past. That said, he has not put anything by Dua Lipa on his Best list since "New Rules" in 2018 and complained last year that the radio was oversatured with good-but-not-great Dua Lipa songs. Considering this track's blatant similarity to "Levitating" (which Todd said he never even considered for the Best list), it's well possible Todd will have grown sick of Dua Lipa by the end of 2023 and instead consider this more of a creatively stagnant disappointment than a delightful disco throwback.
** And on that note, most of the same can be said in regards to "Houdini" as well.

* "Houdini" by Dua Lipa: Most of what was said in regards to "Dance the Night" above can be applied here.

* "Look Alive" by BlocBoy JB feat. Drake or "Yes Indeed" by Lil Baby feat. Drake. These songs are extremely similar, so it is unlikely that Todd chooses both. They both have bored Drake features at the start of the song, a strong indication of each host rapper's skill level; super-average, monotonous trap beats; and host rappers with strong similarities to previous reviled rappers of the 2010s (2 Chainz and Kodak Black). Of the two, "Look Alive" has more energy and charisma, while "Yes Indeed" is a less direct affront to the senses.