Who’s on top of Apple Music's 2023 global song chart?

The top 100 tracks on Apple Music in 2023 are... - Copyright AP Photo / Natacha Pisarenko - Jordan Strauss

Published on 29/11/2023 - 12:47•Updated 21/12/2023 - 10:00

The top 100 tracks on Apple Music in 2023 have been revealed - with some surprises and the continuing dominance of Taylor Swift. (We're not complaining.)

December is not even here, but the big music streaming services are unveiling their end-of-year roundups and rankings.

Apple Music dropped their global song chart of 2023, getting a head start over Spotify’s Wrapped, whose launch is imminent. You can expect TikTok, YouTube and other platforms to release their lists in the coming days.

For the time being, here are the key takeaways from Apple Music’s Global song chart – and you can scroll down for the full list of the Top Songs of 2023 Global.

TayTay all day

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Taylor Swift is Apple Music’s artist of the year for 2023, with the company saying that 65 of her tracks reached its Global Daily Top 100 chart in the first 10 months of the year. She is the service’s most popular artist.

“Taylor Swift’s impact on music is absolutely undeniable — not just this record-breaking year, but throughout her entire career," Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats, said in a statement. “She is a generation-defining artist and a true change agent in the music industry, and there is no doubt that her impact and influence will be felt for years to come."

However, Swift did not have the biggest track on Apple Music this year...

Last Night all year

The biggest track on Apple Music honour goes to country artist Morgan Wallen’s ‘Last Night’, which is the first country song since ‘Old Town Road’ in 2019 to top these rankings. Wallen also had the most popular album on Apple Music this year with his ‘One Thing at a Time’ LP.

Wallen’s 'Last Night' stayed atop the Billboard Hot 100 for 16 weeks this year, beating Harry Styles’ 'As It Was' for the record of longest No. 1 run for a non-collaboration. It also tied Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber’s 'Despacito' for the title of second-longest reign in Hot 100’s 65-year history.

In its announcement, Apple noted that 11 country tracks are in its top 100 for 2023, up from just four last year.

Joining 'Last Night' at the very top of the global songs list were 'Flowers' by Miley Cyrus in second, 'Kill Bill' by SZA in third, 'Rich Flex' by Drake and 21 Savage in fourth, and another SZA track in fifth slot, 'Snooze', which was followed by Taylor Swift’s 'Anti-Hero'.

SZA, who leads the 2024 Grammy nominations, topped Apple's most-read lyrics in 2023 for her smash single, 'Kill Bill'.

Global records broken

Nigerian rapper Rema’s 'Calm Down' remix with Selena Gomez was No. 12 on the global songs chart, the highest entry ever for an African song.

Another noteworthy trend this year is the presence of J-Pop tracks, with one of them – YOASOBI’s ‘Idol’ - hitting Number 7.

Apple’s data also shows the growing presence of Música Mexicana globally. A total of four Música Mexicana songs make the list. Making it into the top 20 is Peso Pluma and Eslabon Armado’s 'Ella Baila Sola' (No. 18) while Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny’s 'un x100to' lands at No. 70.