Billboard.com Hot 100 March Madness is back! The annual twist on the college basketball tournament bracket is now in its fourth year, and once again, we’re asking pop fans to vote for their favorite recent hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
We’ve had millions of votes cast in our Hot 100 March Madness polls over the past three years, with the songs “Hold It Against Me” by Britney Spears, “Scream and Shout” by Spears & Will.i.am, and “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus earning the crown in 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. Now, a new victor must be determined from a field of 32 recent hits. Which song will earn its place in the Hot 100 March Madness Hall of Fame?
New Pop Shop Podcast: ‘Empire’ vs. Madonna, ‘X Factor’ New Zealand & More
Like last year’s Hot 100 March Madness tournament, we’ve gathered the last 32 songs to reach the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, and placed them in head-to-head match-ups. Over the next few weeks — as the college basketball tournament is also going on — it will be completely up to fan votes to determine which song dominates this year’s bracket-style tournament!
Check out the full Hot 100 March Madness and then support your individual favorites in the first round of voting:
Through the Hot 100 chart dated March 14, 2015, these 32 songs have been the most recent hits to appear in the top 5 of the chart. The match-ups within the bracket were decided arbitrarily, so don’t worry about any NCAA-style rankings — any of the 32 songs above has a great chance of following “Hold It Against Me,” “Scream and Shout” and “Wrecking Ball,” and capturing Hot 100 March Madness glory.
Best Song Bracket Battle 2014: See Who Wins our Year-End Pop Showdown!
The first round of action already sees some tough showdowns: can Iggy Azalea‘s “Fancy” topple her pal Ariana Grande‘s “Break Free”? Is Maroon 5‘s latest hit, “Sugar,” sweet enough to take down Jason Derulo‘s “Dirty” talk? Is Pharrell‘s “Happy” enough to defeat Sam Smith‘s “I’m Not The Only One”? And what about Taylor Swift — is one of “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space” destined to appear in the Finals? It’s up to you to decide each outcome!
Next Tuesday (Mar. 24), we’ll reveal the 16 songs that won their match-ups and survived the round of 32, and another round of voting will begin. Eventually, a new Hot 100 March Madness champion — the Top 5 hit that you think was the No. 1 single of the past year — will be crowned. Vote now in the match-ups below, and let the Madness begin!