2025 Global Top 20 Pop Songs

From stadium-sized synth anthems to bilingual Latin crossovers and hook-heavy K-/J-pop, this is our definitive, global snapshot of 2025’s pop landscape so far—ranked as of August 29, 2025 (Europe/Copenhagen). Every pick first arrived in 2025 and is pop at its core, even when welded to house, R&B, Afropop, or hip-hop. The order reflects measurable momentum and real-world impact: release timing, national and global chart peaks, Spotify/Apple streaming velocity, major playlist support, EU/US/UK radio rotation, YouTube lift, Shazam spikes in key cities, TikTok creation waves, credible press highlights, and live or festival moments that actually moved the needle. It isn’t just a popularity roll call; it’s a balance of innovation, ubiquity, and staying power—songs that defined commutes, clubs, dashboards, and headline stages across continents. Paste it above the list, hit publish, and you’ve got a time-stamped record of how pop sounded and performed in 2025’s first eight months.

Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild

Sabrina Carpenter’s razor-sharp “Manchild” is 2025’s dominant pop single because it fuses meme-ready hooks with heavyweight, real-world results. First released on June 5, 2025, the track arrived as a cheeky, synth-glossed kiss-off that exploded across TikTok sounds during June and turned into hard chart currency through July. In the U.K., it ended Alex Warren’s record 12-week streak as chart champ, climbing to No. 1 on August 15 and holding for a second week on August 22, 2025, per the Official Charts Company, a rare late-summer takeover that also pushed deep Shazam spikes in London and Manchester as weekend revellers tried to ID the chorus from club booths. The official video, published in early June on Carpenter’s channel, quickly pulled in tens of millions of views, and by August she was sitting comfortably among the most-played pop names on European CHR, with BBC Radio 1 and commercial networks spinning the single in A-list rotation. Spotify’s summer-long editorial support (placement alongside other global smashes on flagship pop lists) kept daily streams elevated, while headline festival cameos across Europe fed fresh clips that supercharged the hook’s second wind. “Manchild” ranks No. 1 here because it’s the rare 2025 pop moment that checks every box—viral, radio-friendly, playlisted, and, crucially, able to dislodge an entrenched No. 1 exactly when the year’s race tightened.

Ed Sheeran – Sapphire

Released June 5, 2025, “Sapphire” is Ed Sheeran at his most global—and that’s not just branding. The single, which blends his acoustic pop instincts with Punjabi-leaning melodic motifs, benefitted from a star-packed visual story and word-of-mouth around a surprise cameo from Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan; the video’s rapid climb into nine-figure YouTube territory through June/July underlines its cross-demographic pull. On the metrics, the track secured a U.K. Singles Top 5 peak in June and topped the U.K. Singles Downloads Chart the week of June 19, 2025, while also registering in Ireland and across mainland Europe through July per weekly chart updates. Apple Music and Spotify granted day-one marquee placements in pop and global crossover lists, which, paired with Hot AC/CHR adds across the U.K. and Ireland, produced sticky, multi-format momentum through late summer. The single’s live campaign mattered, too: Sheeran rolled out “Sapphire” alongside an Old Delhi “Looper Performance” video and South Asian promo moments that generated local Shazam surges in Mumbai and Delhi as the visual circulated. “Sapphire” ranks No. 2 because it’s both a streaming and cultural moment—bridging markets that rarely converge on one pop record in 2025, then converting that attention into durable chart tenure and festival sing-alongs rather than a one-week spike.

KAROL G – LATINA FOREVA

KAROL G’s “LATINA FOREVA” turned a late-May drop (May 22, 2025) into a season-long pop-Latin juggernaut by packaging pride messaging in a radio-bright, two-and-a-half-minute sugar rush. The official video—published the same week—passed 30 million views within the early summer window, boosted by a visually witty “snow-on-the-slopes” treatment that press outlets spotlighted and fans clipped on socials. Editorially, the track earned immediate placement on flagship Latin and global pop playlists (e.g., Viva Latino and Today’s Hits-style lists) and rose into daily Top 50s across Spanish-speaking markets, while European support from NRJ, Los40, and key Iberian stations converted the record into a bilingual staple. On Apple Music, “LATINA FOREVA” headlined her Tropicoqueta era, and the single’s flamenco-guitar flourish (a nod that Spanish media covered in late May) gave the hook a differentiator that DJs happily looped in mixed-format sets from Madrid to Mexico City. By June/July it was consistently rubbing shoulders with Anglo pop at clubs and summer festivals, paired with Shazam upticks in Barcelona, Miami, and Bogotá after her high-impact festival appearances. It ranks No. 3 because no other 2025 pop cut married identity, choreography-ready bounce, and pan-market radio acceptance this efficiently—even fans who don’t speak Spanish left shows humming the “foreva” refrain.

JENNIE & Dua Lipa – Handlebars

A culture-straddle masterclass, “Handlebars” (released March 11, 2025) teams BLACKPINK’s JENNIE and Dua Lipa for a sleek, mid-tempo R&B-pop duet engineered for global crossover. The BRTHR-directed video dropped to immediate fanfare—press tallied multi-million-view milestones within its first hours—and the record slid straight into Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits ecosystem and Apple Music’s A-List Pop, seeding quick gains across Southeast Asia, Korea, the U.K., and the U.S. through March/April. Radio-wise, the single found a lane on CHR/Pop in Europe (notably in the U.K. and Italy, where the track serviced radio mid-March), and Korean music TV exposure helped push domestic streams. Critically, coverage from Rolling Stone and European pop outlets framed “Handlebars” as the album Ruby’s breakout moment; that editorial halo, combined with synchronized fashion/beauty virality around the video, sustained conversation beyond the typical two-week cycle. “Handlebars” ranks No. 4 because it consistently behaved like a true global pop duet in 2025: top-tier playlisting, substantial YouTube acceleration, sustained shareability on TikTok dance edits, and credible radio structure in multiple territories—all while sounding effortlessly cool rather than lab-built for trend chasing.

Chappell Roan – The Subway

Released August 1, 2025, “The Subway” is the year’s most explosive alt-pop crossover, turning Chappell Roan’s cult demand into indisputable mainstream heat. The official video’s neon-noir heartbreak tableau racked up seven-figure views within days and, crucially, converted immediately to streaming lifts: Apple Music’s Today’s Hits and A-List Pop placements plus Spotify Pop Rising → Today’s Top Hits progression carried it into the Global Top 50 in early August. U.K. support from BBC Radio 1 (daytime plays) and editorial adds in Germany and the Nordics boosted Shazam activity in London, Berlin, and Copenhagen across the weekend of August 9–11 as Pride and festival crowds latched onto the cathartic chorus. Press called it her “big pop era” inflection point, and late-summer festival billing (including major U.K. events) supplied viral live moments—overhead crowd sing-backs from tents to TikTok—that kept weekly streams growing instead of peaking. It ranks No. 5 because few 2025 pop songs built momentum this cleanly, this fast: immediate DSP support, strong YouTube pickup, tangible radio curiosity, and a fanbase able to generate culture—custom nails, makeup looks, and “subway” costume bits—around a single track.

Alex Warren – Ordinary

A surprise juggernaut, “Ordinary” (new single release dated February 7, 2025) quietly took hold on U.K. radio and streaming before dominating the spring. The piano-pop confessional found a broad audience via wedding-cut edits and fan-made reels that pushed it into high-rotation pop lists across Spotify and Apple, then the Official Charts Company clocked the phenomenon: “Ordinary” logged a record-stretching 12-week run at No. 1 into August before surrendering to Sabrina Carpenter. The official video’s steady view climb through spring/early summer mirrored the song’s lived reality: first-dance soundtrack, open-mic staple, and home-video montage fuel, which kept Shazam requests spiking in smaller U.K. markets and on Irish commercial radio. Importantly, “Ordinary” was sticky—CHR programmers stuck with it across quarters and later leaned into an acoustic edit that helped the track avoid fatigue. It ranks No. 6 because 2025 produced few pop songs that commanded a national chart for three straight months; even without a superstar halo, Warren’s ballad delivered both mass exposure and endurance, and its late-arriving global bleed (Australia, the Nordics) suggests the record’s life is still expanding as autumn nears.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf7zs8iLK0A

Ed Sheeran – Drive (From F1® The Movie)

Dropped in June 2025 in lockstep with the Brad Pitt/Damson Idris F1 rollout, “Drive” is the year’s most effective film-pop synergy play. A muscular mid-tempo with an anthemic, pit-lane-to-stadium chorus, the record benefited from blockbuster packaging: an official video on Sheeran’s channel, franchise accounts amplifying the link, and press noting A-list studio players (John Mayer on guitar, Dave Grohl on drums) behind the cut. That ecosystem produced immediate global playlist adds (New Music Friday global + multiple national editions; big-label pop lists), and the F1 machine hammered exposure across race weekends, ESPN/Skysports shoulder content, and car-brand social campaigns, pushing Shazam spikes around race cities. The song’s chorus, purpose-built for sports montages, entered regular rotation on highlight packages while CHR/Hot AC radio gave it “test spins → adds” in the U.K., Australia, and parts of continental Europe. “Drive” ranks No. 7 because it demonstrates 2025’s “IP x pop” model done right: a standalone hook that streams on its own merits plus the marketing hydraulics only a tentpole release can supply, turning a soundtrack single into a true playlist mainstay.

Ariana Grande – twilight zone

“twilight zone” arrived in March 2025 as Ariana Grande’s sleekest pure-pop arrow since “positions,” trading breathy confessionals for an iridescent, synth-flexing chorus designed for Pop radio. The official music video, published on her channel in March, delivered a stylized, thriller-meets-dance-floor concept that critics and fans clipped relentlessly; from there, the track marched through DSPs: day-one adds on Apple’s Today’s Hits and A-List Pop, plus a swift move from Pop Rising into Today’s Top Hits on Spotify, set it up for consistent daily volume across Q2. The song’s structure—pre-chorus tease, then a scalpel-clean topline—helped it stick on CHR in the U.K., Germany and select U.S. iHeart markets, and it gained additional lift with remix packs that kept DJ pools feeding it into late-night sets across Europe. It ranks No. 8 because it did exactly what top-tier Ariana singles do in strong, non-album-launch years: drive sizable cross-platform consumption without gimmickry, maintain multi-month radio life, and punch above average on YouTube with concept visuals that add replay value instead of acting as disposable add-ons.

LISA feat. Tyla – When I’m With You

A February 28, 2025 album-drop track that became a spring/summer single once its May 16 video landed, “When I’m With You” pairs BLACKPINK’s LISA with Tyla for a soft-focus, R&B-pop glide built for global playlists. The Olivia De Camps-directed visual—sun-drenched choreography, pool-party glamour—anchored early coverage and generated quick TikTok choreography copies, while DSPs elevated the cut from album track to marquee pop placement through May/June. Live mattered: LISA’s Coachella slots in April teased the hook to massive audiences, priming post-festival streaming jumps across North America and Southeast Asia; after the video, the song saw chart movement in Thailand and New Zealand plus top-tier inclusion in K-Pop x Global Pop blends. Radio programmers in Europe slotted it as a tempo valve between ballads and big synth records, giving it steady light-to-medium rotation. “When I’m With You” ranks No. 9 because it shows how a K-pop star can flip an album deep-cut into a seasonal pop staple via the right feature (Tyla’s feather-light tone melts into the chorus), strong visuals, and smart festival sequencing that activates cross-continent demand.

Selena Gomez, benny blanco & Gracie Abrams – Call Me When You Break Up

Unveiled February 20, 2025, as part of the I Said I Love You First campaign, “Call Me When You Break Up” weaponizes classic bubblegum-pop craft: clean guitar, handclaps, and a talk-to-me lyric that begs repeats. The official video’s premiere delivered immediate coverage from mainstream entertainment press and helped the record jump into Pop editorial sets across DSPs, while adult-leaning CHR/Hot AC in North America and Europe found an easy-programming slot next to Sabrina and Tate. The trio dynamic matters—Gomez’s warm lead, Abrams’ diaristic intimacy, and Blanco’s pop sense combine for a hook that tests well with both Gen Z and millennial listeners. The song’s presence on Apple’s Today’s Hits and Spotify pop playlists through late February/March sustained daily streams, as TikTok adoption skewed toward POV-style skits that fit the lyric’s wink; subsequent acoustic and “stripped” clips kept engagement high into April. It lands at No. 10 because it’s a model of 2025 pop efficiency: a concept anyone can sing back on first listen, packaging star power without overshadowing the song, and converting that into durable multi-month consumption rather than a flash-trend blip.

Tate McRae – Just Keep Watching (From F1® The Movie)

Premiering in July 2025, Tate McRae’s soundtrack standout “Just Keep Watching” plays like a motivational pop rocket: punchy drums, tight phrasing, and a chorus that begs for arena sing-backs. The official video—live-performance feel with kinetic edits—hit McRae’s channel in mid-July and served as the song’s launch pad into global playlists tied to the F1 soundtrack, with additional lift from race-week social content and athlete reposts. On streaming, the track moved quickly from New Music Friday sets into prominent pop lists, while Apple Music positioned it alongside Ed Sheeran’s “Drive,” creating a one-two soundtrack punch that kept both songs sticky in the Global Top 100 through late July and August. Radio programmers in Canada, the U.K. and Australia added it in waves as McRae’s festival summer continued, prompting Shazam jolts around Grand Prix cities and fan-shot clips that recycled the chorus across short-form video. It ranks No. 11 because it is the rare soundtrack pop cut that behaves like a stand-alone hit—steady streams, cross-market radio traction, and a chorus already echoing in sports montages—rather than simply hitching a ride on the film’s promo cycle.

YOASOBI – PLAYERS

Released March 21, 2025, “PLAYERS” is J-pop duo YOASOBI’s most export-ready pop anthem yet—an 8-bit-sparked, synth-driven celebration of growth that tied into PlayStation’s 30th-anniversary moment. The official video (premiered April 17) packed Easter eggs that press and gaming communities decoded for weeks, fueling organic YouTube replays and sub-community shares. Live debuts at Yokohama’s Echoes Baa in early April and a polished Music Awards Japan performance in late May extended the life cycle; a subsequent English version increased international playlisting, landing “PLAYERS” across Apple and Spotify pop sets outside Japan. The song’s arrangement—bright top line with Ayase’s signature builds—made it ideal for sports and gaming content creators, generating spikes on Shazam in Tokyo and, notably, London during their Wembley dates. It ranks No. 12 because it’s a true 2025 cross-culture victor: a Japanese-language single that mobilized fanbases on two continents, grabbed consistent editorial support, and delivered a visually inventive video experience that multiplied engagement rather than relying solely on audio stream velocity.

Justin Bieber – Daisies

Arriving in late January 2025, “Daisies” re-centers Justin Bieber in pure pop mode: breezy guitar gloss over a hummingbird melody and soft-focus romance. The official video, published in the final week of January, quickly chalked up eight-figure views as fans latched onto the chorus for “soft launch” couple edits on TikTok through February. On DSPs, “Daisies” saw a healthy New Music Friday run and then settled into Today’s Hits-type lists for several weeks, while Pop radio in Canada and select European territories gave the track reliable daytime exposure in February/March. While it didn’t bulldoze national charts like Bieber’s biggest smashes, consistent early-year consumption set a high floor; by spring, the song was a staple on wedding and prom playlists, and it earned a mid-tempo spot in club cool-down sets thanks to clean stems that DJs could filter into house tempos. “Daisies” ranks No. 13 because its 2025 footprint is undeniable even without headline-grabbing peaks: strong video performance, multi-month playlist presence, and light-to-medium radio that added up to serious aggregate audience impressions across Q1/Q2, keeping Bieber fully in the year’s conversation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KylJmAc5oS4

Lewis Capaldi – Survive

Lewis Capaldi’s July 2025 return single “Survive” is the year’s most resonant pop ballad comeback. The official video arrived in early July and accelerated following his surprise Glastonbury appearance on June 27—the cathartic full-circle moment that press chronicled widely. Within a week, “Survive” moved into key Apple/Spotify pop lists globally and began posting sturdy U.K./Ireland chart placements, with additional European traction as TV performances (including a U.S. late-night slot) rolled out the week of July 7. Radio’s response matched the narrative: BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, and commercial CHR/AC networks gave it rapid adds, with measurable Shazam spikes in London, Glasgow, and Dublin after live TV and festival features. “Survive” ranks No. 14 because it did something few ballads manage in 2025’s uptempo climate—cut through the festival/noise cycle with a simple, towering hook and a story fans could invest in, translating into repeat listens, heavy wedding-season usage, and a stable mid-summer chart life rather than a sympathy-only bounce.

MK feat. Chrystal – Dior

Detroit house mainstay MK crossed firmly into dance-pop with “Dior,” released June 6, 2025, and the strategy paid off: the record’s rubbery bass and fashion-flex lyric made it a go-to transition track for pop DJs all summer. The official lyric video arrived in June and ticked into eight digits by August, while an extended mix serviced to club DJs built a parallel footprint on Beatport and Apple Music’s dance-leaning lists. U.K. radio (Kiss, Capital) and European dance networks dropped it into high-energy programming blocks; in clubs from Ibiza to Mykonos it doubled as a pop crowd-pleaser and runway-show catwalk cut, which kept Shazam pings steady in tourist hubs across July/August. “Dior” ranks No. 15 not because it topped national singles charts but because it achieved the thing a dance-pop single in 2025 must: live in as many contexts as possible—festival tents, pool bars, high street retail, and pop radio pre-midnight—with enough hook to glue casual listeners and enough groove to satisfy DJs threading sets between pop anthems and deeper house.

WizTheMc, Tyla & bees & honey – Show Me Love

Originally released February 7, 2025 (with a Tyla-assisted version following in spring), “Show Me Love” is the stealth breakout that ate summer playlists. The official video for the Tyla take delivered a key unlock: Afropop swing under a pop-leaning topline, giving programmers an easy sunshine add that fit next to Sabrina, Tate, and KAROL G. Early YouTube traction (the original and Tyla versions combined) correlated with steady Spotify/Apple Pop list support and regular placements in Afro-Pop crossovers, helping the song bubble in South Africa and continental Europe. The record’s superpower is utility: wedding receptions, rooftop bars, and beach clubs all leaned on its unhurried bounce, and creators built micro-trends around the chorus’s side-step on TikTok through June. “Show Me Love” ranks No. 16 because in 2025 the biggest pop wins often come from unassuming hybrids that never leave the ecosystem—this one did just that, racking lessons-per-week growth for months through ubiquity rather than massive, one-week spikes.

HUNTR/X – Golden

From the summer’s animated hit K-pop film cycle, HUNTR/X’s “Golden” leveraged a multimedia rollout to become an undeniable pop-led K-crossover moment in 2025. The official lyric video—hosted on Sony Pictures Animation’s channel—hit in June alongside teaser drops, then vaulted across YouTube via reaction, choreography, and fan-edit circuits. DSPs slotted “Golden” into K-Pop On! and Global Pop blends while gaming and anime-leaning audiences helped push Shazam requests in Seoul, Tokyo, and Los Angeles as the movie expanded. The hook’s chant-along quality made it a festival-tent staple at K-culture events and a go-to halftime track for sports arenas. It ranks No. 17 because it represents 2025’s most successful pop-film tie-in from the K-scene: not just a soundtrack cut, but a standalone earworm that crossed outside core fandom, posted durable YouTube numbers, and drove real-world sing-backs at fan events and conventions throughout July and August.

Doechii – Denial Is A River

Doec h ii opened 2025 with a left-turn pop-rap gem, dropping the official “Denial Is A River” video on January 3, 2025. The sitcom-format concept clip became a conversation piece in its own right (media highlighted its ‘90s TV references), and the song banked immediate editorial adds across hip-hop and pop-leaning lists—proving its crossover bite. A Grammys season performance medley and late-night slots amplified awareness, and TikTok edits mined the song’s third-act switch for punchline reveals, fueling repeatability. Radio’s adoption was selective but meaningful: rhythmic/CHR programmers used the single as a tempo shifter between dance-pop and trap cuts, and across Q1 the record showed healthy Shazam ranks in New York and L.A., reflecting real-world curiosity after televised performances. It ranks No. 18 because it wins the 2025 pop-hybrid contest on originality—melodic enough to live in pop playlists, inventive enough to spark press and creator conversation—translating into multi-month relevance rather than a quick-burn January novelty.

Doja Cat – Jealous Type

Doja Cat returned to unabashed pop with “Jealous Type” on August 21, 2025, and the 80s-gloss, Antonoff-co-produced single immediately re-balanced the late-summer race. The official video, directed by Boni Mata and published August 22, sprinted to multi-million views in week one and earned wide-angle coverage from People, AV Club and Hypebeast, who all underlined the disco-pop visual palette and “duality” motif. On platform data, “Jealous Type” secured instant New Music Friday global support and climbed into major pop sets on Apple and Spotify within 48 hours; in Australasia it cracked ARIA’s singles lists and posted strong movement on local radio as Doja announced her Ma Vie World Tour with added Sydney dates. MTV’s August 26 performer reveal locked a high-profile VMA debut for September 7, ensuring an additional visibility spike. It ranks No. 19 because, in just one week, it performed like a first-ballot Song of the Summer candidate—high-velocity video views, swift editorial escalation, region-specific chart flashes, and an imminent tent-pole TV performance—setting it up to define early autumn pop discourse.

Kesha, Slayyyter & Rose Gray – ATTENTION!

Released in June 2025, “ATTENTION!” is a maximalist, club-punch pop single that stitches Kesha’s big-room instincts to Slayyyter and Rose Gray’s neo-Y2K swagger. The official lyric video, published mid-June, racked up hundreds of thousands of plays out of the gate and proved sticky across the gay-club circuit and festival after-hours, where DJs leaned on its turbo-charged pre-chorus as a mix-in and its chanty hook as a peak-time reset. DSPs supported accordingly: New Music Friday debuts in the U.S. and U.K., Pop Rising placements through late June, and repeated turns in Summer Pop and party-framed Apple lists across July. Social content helped—soundtracked GRWM clips and “pre-game” edits—and European dance stations (Kiss Dance, NRJ hits spin blocks) took to it quickly. It ranks No. 20 because it embodies 2025’s club-pop revival better than any other collab this year: unpretentious, high-calorie fun that generated reliable playlist and radio utility for months, even without a No. 1 chart headline, and kept crowds moving from Pride season kick-off through August bank-holiday weekends.