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Zane Lowe crowns 2017's biggest pop choruses

The Beats 1 maestro makes his top picks

Zane Lowe crowns 2017's biggest pop choruses
22 December 2017

Beats 1 main man Zane Lowe knows his musical onions.

So who better to guide us through the five biggest pop choruses of another great year for music?

Step forward Mr Lowe - and remember to check out our top 50 songs of the year right here.


Kendrick Lamar - ‘HUMBLE’

“This one jumps out as hook of the year. More than a chorus, it almost became a mantra for a lot of people. And you can apply it in so many different ways so it can be as serious or as throwaway as you want it to be. It was such an uncompromising track and it still went to No1 [in the US], which I love. It was a chorus that challenged you, to a degree.”

DJ Khaled ft Rihanna and Bryson Tiller - ‘Wild Thoughts’

“To me, this is just one of the best choruses of the past few years. I’ve got to give it to DJ Khaled, he knows how to put a team together around a record. Hearing Rihanna sing that hook is just a thing of absolute joy. It’s so heavy. Rihanna’s had a really productive year off.”

Dua Lipa - ‘New Rules’

“It’s one of the most eccentric choruses of the year and it happens to be attached to one of the best modern pop songs for a long time. It’s such a crazy, lush hook. It just hums along at a really great pace. Whoever produced that record should be happy as it’s one of the best produced pop records since ‘Toxic’.”

Lil Uzi Vert - ‘XO Tour Llif3’

“It was one of those choruses that just became omnipresent. It’s such a deep, sad and desperate record. But it tapped into a feeling that I think people have. It became a turning point for pop and hip-hop because the vulnerability and the emotion of it was very clear.”

Paramore - ‘Hard Times’

“For Paramore to come out and just have that perfect alchemy of fun melodies and really emotional subject matter, I think they absolutely crushed it.”

Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 radio show is on Apple Music; apple.co/zane

(Image: Rex)

And while you’re in an end-of-year, festive sort of mood, why not try this Official Charts Christmas quiz?