As we mentioned in our midyear albums list, one of the biggest themes of 2025 on the Billboard charts has largely been about smash 2024 hits that refuse to die — songs by the likes of Benson Boone, Shaboozey and a record-setting Teddy Swims that are still populating the top 10 a year after originally climbing there. Meanwhile, the past is now continually impinging upon the present, as resurgent catalog Hot 100 hits from Coldplay, Lorde and Charli XCX this year will attest to.
But the future is also starting to be heard from. Bad Bunny and Playboi Carti released boundary-pushing albums and littered the Hot 100 in the process. Sombr and Ravyn Lenae parlayed TikTok virality into streaming success and now a growing radio embrace, demonstrating themselves as likely stars in development. And even though she’s done it all with songs technically released before 2025, Doechii established herself as one of the brightest and quickest-rising talents in all of music. Meanwhile, recently minted A-listers Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan have kept their 2024 momentum rolling, and pop icons Drake and Lady Gaga reminded us how they originally became stars: on the backs of incredible hit singles.
Find all these exciting artists and some of their new signature songs below, in our list of the 50 best songs of 2025 so far — songs which either were released or peaked on the Billboard charts this year. (Songs that already made our 2024 list, like “Pink Pony Club” and “Die With a Smile,” were not eligible.) Headphones on, let’s dive in.
