Apple Music’s end-of-year charts are based on plays between November 1, 2023, and October 31, 2024. The rise of Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” in 2023 was remarkable; in 2024, it felt unstoppable. The US singer-songwriter’s 2022 single—which first gained traction in 2023 following covers from Maisie Peters and Olivia Rodrigo—dominated 2024, ending the year as the most listened-to song in Ireland on Apple Music. That’s why it takes the top spot in this playlist, which rounds up the songs the nation couldn’t get enough of over the past 12 months. And right behind “Stick Season” are two songs that similarly soundtracked the year—“Espresso,” the summer hit that made Sabrina Carpenter the season’s certified breakout star—and Hozier’s “Too Sweet.” Landing 11 years after “Take Me To Church,” it became an inescapable 2024 single—the kind of song that hung in the air and seemed to be playing wherever you went—and the singer-songwriter’s biggest hit to date. Elsewhere this year, Ireland fell for impassioned anthems by singer-songwriters (see Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” and Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control”), tracks cementing country music’s mainstream takeover (think Beyoncé’s “TEXAS HOLD ’EM,” Shaboozey’s irrepressible “A Bar Song [Tipsy],” Dasha’s “Austin [Boots Stop Workin’],” or Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything” with Kacey Musgraves) and a raft of thrilling, moment-meeting rising stars who each found new ways to take pop music forward. Alongside Carpenter, they included folk-pop singer-songwriter Myles Smith and Chappell Roan, whose “Good Luck, Babe!” propelled her from word-of-mouth talent to everyone’s favorite new pop star. And, as Taylor Swift continued to take The Eras Tour across the world—and released her scorching eleventh album, The Tortured Poets Department—Ireland cued up hits from across her catalog, including “Cruel Summer,” “Anti-Hero,” and “Love Story.” As for this year’s biggest comeback? That came courtesy of Sophie Ellis-Bextor, whose shimmering 2001 hit “Murder on the Dancefloor” found new life—and a new audience—after it was featured in one of 2024’s most talked-about films, Saltburn (and one its most talked-about scenes). Catch up on the top 100 songs that defined the year here.