2022 Songs of the Year
(From right to left) Top: Charli XCX, Caroline Polachek, Grace Ives, Omar Apollo, Tove Lo. Bottom: Tove Lo, SZA, Carly Rae Jepsen, Rosalia, Mallrat, Ethel Cain
MOTOMAMIs emerged from burning rubber in January; angels CRASHED through in March; Pharmacists named Belinda got their time in the light by the end of October.
It’s been a year of specificity in music, with more artists experimenting with new (and niche) sounds than ever before. Despite the singularity of artists like Rosalía, however, the idea of true “genres” has never felt more slippery.
References, samples, subversions and big swings dominate the top end of the list this year, proving that the future has space for experimenting; for everybody. Our favorite tracks this year question, meditate, and liberate themselves from the pressures of a messy present-day by looking somehow backwards and forwards at the same time.
This list is far from comprehensive, not at all “correct,” and really just a fun way to reflect on the songs we loved most (or you may have missed) from the past calendar year. The only rule we have is that the same artist can’t repeat within the top 20.
From subverting classic lyrics (“Belinda Says”) to transporting old hits (“Beg for You”) to today’s sonic landscape, here are our favorite songs of 2022.
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THE TOP 100
100-81
100. ALMA: “Everything Beautiful”
Cathartic existential glossy pop; perfect production of strings, strums, keys and beats; upbeat sonics to contrast existential lyrics.
99. Alan, Jayda G: “Mine O’ Mine”
98. Beach House: “Illusion of Forever”
97. Saya Grey: “WISH U PICKED ME…”
96. Sudan Archives: “Selfish Soul”
95. Bree Runway: “Somebody Like You”
A total turn from Runway’s usual stomping energy; surging synths from the brooding underbelly of sonic production; dramatically unwrapped; phonetically adventurous; genre-less hit.
94. Halsey: “So Good”
93. Gorillaz, Thundercat: “Cracker Island”
92. Showtek, VÉRITÉ: “Pour It Down”
91. Mr Little Jeans: “Better with You”
90. Becky G: “BAILÉ CON MI EX”
One of the slickest transitions to drop this year; smooth careless pop; packed with hooks and wit.
89. Hayley Kiyoko: “for the girls”
88. Tate McRae: “don’t come back”
Top 100 pop that’s actually Very Good; singing in cursive but well; smart beats and hook transitions; one of the strongest earworms of the year.
87. SZA: “Kill Bill”
86. Omar Apollo: “Tamagotchi”
85. Charli XCX: “Yuck”
84. MGNA Crrrta: “Girl Party”
Absolutely mammoth synthesizers straight out of the 2000s; deadbeat vocals over galactic horns; high energy echoes.
83. Years & Years “Sooner or Later”
82. K.Flay: “Good Girl”
81. Boyfriend, The Song Confessional: “Superman”
punchy pop fun with quick lyrics and charming delivery; intimate garage rock vibe; endlessly catchy kiss-off.
80-61
80 . hemlocks springs: “girlfriend”
79. Baby Queen: “Colours of You”
78. Demi Lovato: “SKIN OF MY TEETH”
Decidedly high-octant rock-pop perfectly suited for Demi’s caliber of voice; refreshingly analog in a climate of artificial synths; vocally impressive; angsty hooks.
77. Bree Runway: “THAT GIRL”
76. Cuco: “Foolish”
75. Dehd: “Stars”
Starts like the feeling you get when you open the car door windows on the way to the beach; infectious quirky energy; instrumentally textured.
74. Carly Rae Jepsen: “Bends”
73. Charli XCX, Rina Sawayama: “Beg For You”
72. AURORA: “Giving In To The Love”
One of the most cathartic, scream-out-the-chorus tracks of the year; AURORA at her unflinching best; bombastic drums and ethereal vocals; a release.
71. Troye Sivan, Jay Som: “Trouble (from ‘Three Months’)”
70. MisterWives: “Easy”
Vulnerable vocal opening; chorus burst introducing jumpy drums and guitar; kickback danceable with self-loving lyrics; plain and simple catchy.
69. Alvvays: “Pharmacist”
68. Lizzo: “The Sign”
67. Tove Styrke: “Show Me Love”
66. Cuco: “Aura”
65. Carly Rae Jepsen: “Joshua Tree”
64. BANKS: “Misunderstood”
Stripped-back honesty; vocally sublime; continuously building up with scattershot instrumentals and echoed, glitchy sonics; short but dynamic.
63. MUNA: “What I Want”
62. Kim Petras: “If Jesus Was A Rockstar”
Caught between the early 2000s guitar-drum kicks and future pop; back and forth instrumental energies; metaphorical lyrics with superficial partying and deeper meditation; surprisingly provocative on whether or not it is good music.
61. ROSALÍA: “BULERÍAS”
60-41
60. KIRBY: “Black Leaves”
59. Orville Peck “The Curse of the Blackened Eye”
Wistful and longing; deep voice that lilts up for the chorus; somber strums over an insistent bass kick; storytelling with queer tones and unflinching lyrics.
58. Grace Ives: “On The Ground”
57. Mallrat: “Teeth”
56. Charli XCX: “Lightning”
55. Tove Lo: “2 Die 4”
One of the most devilishly playful uses of a classic sample (competing only with “Beg For You”); dance hit with a drop to die for; some of the best synths you’re likely to hear.
54: Carly Rae Jepsen: “Talking to Yourself”
53. ROSALÍA: “BIZCOCHITO”
52. Wet Leg: “Chaise Longue”
One of the cheekiest songs (and acts) of the year; lyrically hilarious and instrumentally dynamic; genuinely fun to listen to for a first, third, thirtieth time until you too scream the lyrics over-and-over with those luscious guitar riffs.
51. MUNA: “Home By Now”
50. SZA: “Nobody Gets Me”
Guitar-led ballad backed by a voice both self aware and struggling; manages to find power in vulnerable truths; memorable lyrics and sublime vocals.
49. The Weeknd: “How Do I Make You Love Me”
48. yeule: “Electric”
Mysterious and exploratory production; vocally fragile yet sonically bombastic; caught between a tear and a shout; possibly the future.
47. Tove Styrke: “Start Walking”
46. Alvvays: “Easy On Your Own?”
45. Sophia Bel: “You’re Not Real You’re Just a Ghost”
44. Demi Lovato: “SUBSTANCE”
43. Vulfmon, Gulf, Mike Viola: “Let’s Go! Let’s Go!”
Unabashed fun; rowdy guitars; upbeat energies; perfectly designed for a turnaround walk or particularly electric cleaning session; can’t help but bop along to the beat.
42. Grace Ives: “Loose”
41. Omar Apollo: “Talk”
40-21
40. Charlotte Adigéry, Boris Pupul: “Ceci n’est pas un cliché”
Incredibly instrumental; rhythmic pop not afraid to explore with dynamically minimal production and off-kilter lyric delivery; essentially musical; fresh and future.
39. ROSALÍA: “DESPECHÁ”
Those piano hits; sheer star power; endlessly catchy and danceable; global smash.
38. Caroline Polachek: “Sunset”
Radical departure from all of Polachek’s discography; still somehow totally her; fast-paced guitar strums; operatic vocals; experimental pop that’s still somehow catchy.
37. Yaya Bey: “keisha”
Catchy cut from one of the year’s best albums; voice like sugar; production like a hazy Sunday morning; why you no like nice things?
36. Zella Day: “Radio Silence”
Thematically important; lyrically intimate and specific; a moment of clarity in chaos; incredible release with raw vocals.
35. Dehd: “Bad Love”
Like a dam bursting; cathartic garage rock; refreshingly sunny in the face of something bad.
34. Carly Rae Jepsen: “Surrender My Heart”
Intimate opening; cathartic finish; witty lyrics that don’t blink; sounds like what Robyn might write after a trip to therapy; pop perfection.
33. Years & Years: “Intimacy”
A bop; malleable vocals; lush production; phonetically forward; slightly off-kilter.
32. Doechii: “Persuasive”
Ingeniously clean beat-synth combo; star power; vocal layering; rhythmically exciting.
31. ROSALÍA, Tokischa: “LA COMBI VERSACE”
THE going out song of the year for us; exudes swagger; experiments with production; hits hard when you’re getting ready for something big; timeless.
30. FKA twigs: “meta angel”
The future of experimental pop music; artistically daring; excitingly executed.
29. yeule: “Don’t Be So Hard on Your Own Beauty”
Lyrical gem; earnestly yearning production; insistent vocals and building sonics; if pop were poetry snuck out of the bottom of bedsheets.
28. Omar Apollo: “En El Olvido”
Lushly produced; intimacy like a lazy Sunday; vocally powerful and lyrically smooth; begs for multiple listens.
27. Junglepussy: “CRITIQUA”
Steeped in swagger; thick beats and assured bars; star power.
26. Ambar Lucid: “Timeless”
Intergalactic sailing; hopelessly devoted; vocally expressive; textures of timelessness.
25. Caroline Polachek: “Billions”
Future, but we really mean it this time; sonically eclectic; vocally ethereal; comes in waves; one of the best lyrics of the year (“psycho, priceless, good in a crisis”).
24. Tove Lo: “How Long (From ‘Euphoria’)”
Synths; synths; synths; insistent lyrics matched by a driving beat; best played at high volumes.
23. KUČKA: “Messed Up”
Digital hike into some experimental forest; pitched vocals; thick drum kit; future.
22. FKA twigs, Rema: “jealousy”
Infectious beat; catchy hiphop harps; perfectly produced and vocally delivered.
21. Tove Lo: “Grapefruit”
One of the best from one of pop’s best; new subject territory with vulnerable poignancy; word play intertwined with production choices seamlessly; important; hopelessly catchy pop.
20-1
Rimas Entertainment
20.
Bad Bunny, Bomba Estéreo: “Ojitos Lindos”
This is Bad Bunny’s year—and that says a lot considering how massive his 2021 was. With global hit collaborations and solo sets taking off on their own, Bad Bunny’s international breakout album, Un Verano Sin Ti, delivers the creative risks we’ve come to expect with a few added twists and future-gazes.
“Ojitos Lindos” is a song deeply rooted in love and uncontrollable attraction, but it plays like an inevitable sunset is on the horizon—despite all the devotion and attraction, there’s a more painful emotion shimmering underneath. The somewhat-unexpected collaboration with Colombian stars Bomba Estéreo takes both acts to new heights.
key lyric: “Y solo mírame (Mírame), con esos ojito' lindo’ (Lindo’) / Que con еso yo estoy bien (-toy bien), hoy hе vuelto a nacer (Nacer)”
1501 Certified Entertainment / 300 Entertainment
19.
Megan Thee Stallion: “Plan B”
This is classic Megan, with razor-sharp bars that oscillate between self-empowerment and social commentary delivered by one of rap’s most self-assured voices. 2022 was not an easy year for Meg, but she still managed to turn in some of her best work yet while maintaining multiple endeavors beyond music (including business matters and legal proceedings).
“Plan B” has yet to age, with its bouncy beat and whippy lyrics begging for multiple listens. It’s straightforward rhyming over a 90s beat, proving her prowess and pioneering instincts once again. “You’s a bitch.”
key lyric: “Ladies, love yourself, 'cause this shit could get ugly”
Parlophone Records
18.
Gorillaz: “Skinny Ape”
The first twenty seconds of “Skinny Ape” play like a drive back from a weekend trip, skin still rosy from too much sun, before the song’s idyllic synths peek their way into the track and open it up from the outside.
It’s a masterfully produced track with peaks and valleys, spanning from nonchalant guitar strums to chaotic drum breaks as each verse progresses to the final explosion. “Don’t be sad for me, I’m a cartoon G,” the lyrics wander along with the synth, in search of something. The tension finally breaks in the final bridge, with repetitive chants of the song title growing more distorted and infected by other sounds around it.
key lyric: “And my intent is to breathe (ape) / In a new world, don't be sad for me”
Mallard / Dew Process
17.
Mallrat, Azealia Banks: “Surprise Me”
Who saw this collar coming? The up-and-coming Australian singer-rapper Mallrat teams up with controversial American firestorm Azealia Banks for a loosely (but slickly) produced track that exudes an air of bubblegum nonchalance and tinted windows.
The song opens with airy synths, with a cadence verse cutting through and building trap-pop instrumentals behind it. Mallrat’s voice is velvet-smooth, asking someone questions at the start of a night out before declaring “I read between the lines,” with a ghostly backing chorus. In a word, the song is just cool.
Once Azealia’s verse comes in around the 1:45 mark (preceded by vocal snippets of “uhh, uhh, yeah”), the song is already a bona fide hit before Banks’ bars shoot it into the stratosphere. It’s arguably the best guest verse of her career, offering a slightly different pace of the song and introducing new glittering synths and distortions to pair with her venomous rhymes about squirting squid ink and Nicole Kidman’s face. Who else.
key lyric: “Yeah, A.B. and Mallrat / Ya bitches really all rats”
300 Entertainment / Ambar Lucid
16.
Ambar Lucid: “girl ur so pretty”
Ambar Lucid has been turning in exceptional pop music for years now, between 2019’s indelible “A letter to my younger self,” which oozes heart through earnest songwriting and captivating vocals, and 2020’s “Fantasmas,” a ghostly guitar-backed hit with monster vocals and haunting production. She puts it all together again with this year’s “Timeless,” a lushly produced fever dream single that goes deep into time-and-space-love and leaves you breathless.
“girl ur so pretty” lands somewhere between the galactic production of her bigger hits (“Fantasmas”) and the minimalist intimacy of her most-streamed track (“A letter to my younger self”), finding a new lover and new confidence in the haze of a high.
“Can’t tell if I’m in love or high / fantasizin’ about my hand on your thigh,” she opens over glittering crystals and rhythmic harps. A Y2K trap-pop beat swings in as her bravado increases—vocally and lyrically—to bilingual pop perfection. Lucid is firing on all cylinders, shining in vocals and songwriting in her most infectious and personal hit yet.
key lyric: “Your lovely lips got me hooked, Taste like honey and quietud / Tu aroma trae virtud, Keeping me in a good mood”
Perpetual Novice
15.
Caroline Polachek: “Welcome To My Island”
Who opens a song like that?
In stripped-back a cappella, the art pop singer-songwriter delivers one of her most iconic vocals to date. Beginning with an airy, operatic reach toward the upper register, the twenty-four-second long string of notes introduces a wavering vibrato before completely breaking down into instrument-like shrieks and slips. The twentieth second finds some kind of release in the highest note yet, as Polachek flexes her instrument and shows off its unique ability to open the first track of her newly-announced album, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You (the chorus lyric of “Island”).
The track changes pace several times, but the crisp techno breakdown immediately following the acapella opening vocal and stadium guitar lead-in really hits with a surprising sizzle. “Island” is the fourth track set to be on the upcoming album (releasing in February), and the fourth radically different sonic landscape Polachek has immersed herself in. The pared-down percussion of “Bunny is a Rider;” the ethereal chorus and lush production of “Billions;” the riveting airiness of “Sunset;” all feel like a unique CD in some curated collection only Caroline knows how to assemble.
Despite the eclectic influences and daring explorations, Polachek has never lost herself in the moves and manages to emerge as clear and singular as ever.
2023 UPDATE: This song should be much higher now that it has aged like wine, but the author does not want to mess with it. The Spotify playlist remains the most up-to-date!
key lyric: “Welcome to my island / See the palm trees wave in the wind”
Omar Apollo under exclusive license to Warner Records, Inc.
14.
Omar Apollo: “Go Away”
It’s hard to pick a single standout from Omar Apollo’s Ivory, his most exciting and comprehensive album yet. Fresh off a Grammy nod for best new artist, Apollo is riding a wave of tour success and critical recognition.
Proudly queer (the viral “no i b sucking dick fr” reply tweet comes to mind) and Mexican (“En El Olvido” almost taking this spot), Apollo draws from several genres as his own sonic fingerprint emerges. “Go Away” has several Apollo fixtures—svelte guitar strums, layered vocal harmonies, jumpy rhythmic percussion—making it a perfect introduction to his world of lust, loss, and kicking back despite it all.
The ecosystem he manages to create is exciting, original, and seemingly scraping the surface—there’s further highs he has yet to reach.
key lyric: “It’s something in the way I feel your skin / I just don’t see you enough”
UMG Recordings, Inc. / True Panther Records, LLC
13.
Grace Ives: “Lullaby”
Is *this* the kickback of the top ten? “I Watch that movie ten times a day,” Grace Ives sings with a day dreamy lilt, head tilt to the sky. The track has an ease to it, moving through domestic vignettes which are anything but. It’s an ode to the homebody, “what a lovely mess,” using jumpy organ-synths over a snappy snare drum to glide the lyrics home.
Ives sings from the heart, painting an unflinching portrait of someone comfortable with the off-kilter slices of life. Janky Star was one of the unexpected surprises of the year, a pop record full of novel sounds and sheer artistry. She’s one to watch.
key lyric: “If you get up can you shut the light? / That’s the first star that I’ve seen all night”
Concord Records
12.
Zella Day: “Mushroom Punch”
“Mushroom Punch” begins like a bedtime melody, with Zella Day’s signature vocal lilts painting a hyper specific narrative of her lover through her own actions. Angelic strums and mossy bass drum beats set the song’s tone and tempo, mirroring a weal in the woods or a smoke in the sun. She’s waiting, making tea, psychoanalyzing her lover and even herself—and the song inhabits each new emotion. The song gives into the inevitable percussion and gritty guitars, as her vocals grow layered and frazzled with each new self admission “down the rabbit hole.”
It never stays in one place, though, seemingly mirroring the love in question, but manages to find some meditative place that lets us dance free and read a bitch at the same time.
key lyric: “All this time, I've been waiting / Making tea for my baby / What is hot is growing so cold”
Sony Music Entertainment Sweden AB
11.
Tove Styrke: “YouYouYou”
“I’m in love with someone new / still I’m dreaming about you,” Styrke sings over unsure synths with an air of heady indecisiveness. The first 30 seconds grow evermore expectant of a pop dam bursting, and we finally get relief on the fortieth second. Vocal harmonies are laid with angst over daring, glittering synths and eighties drums. The chorus shines in simple refrain, “I got you you you on my mind,” before being broken down with key changes and a Styrke-sponsored chorus break.
The glittering, dynamic production gives the track a certain glint, amping up the hook factor and revealing new shines with each listen. It’s pure pop; an unabashed anthem for the messy truths of desire. She seemingly never misses through her entire discography, turning in pop hit after hit with some of the sharpest hooks the industry has to offer. With a newfound audience from her unexpected, eleventh hour hit “Borderline,” Styrke seems to just be getting started.
key lyric: “If I saw your facе, I'd have a heart attack / I'm not tryna say that I want you back”
Her Name is Banks, Inc. under exclusive license to AWAL Recordings America, Inc.
10.
BANKS: “Holding Back”
BANKS remains somewhat underrated in terms of pop recognition and vocal prowess, but that has never stopped her from making the best music of her career. “Holding Back” is no exception, a highlight in the incredible Serpentina that opens with a high-pitch intro before thick-and-heavy bass hits take the air out of the room. Word play, vocal acrobatics, ferocious swagger—BANKS has it all on display.
This song should be a hit, synonymous with radio royalty, from its lithe vocal trappings to its catchy pre-chorus backing harmonies. The pitched-up vocal underlays BANKS’ signature R&B pop sensibility as the song masterfully oscillates between swaggering declarations and measured admissions. This is BANKS at her best, trapped somewhere between rapture and restraint, and remains a powerful declaration of vocal ability and sonic force.
key lyric: “Lifted me up, was on the second floor and / I always loved that story”
RAYE under exclusive license to Human Re Sources
9.
RAYE: “Escapism. (feat. 070 Shake)”
Opening with eerie, off-tune synths, “Escapism” introduces RAYE as a similar voice with undeniable star power, vocal prowess, and singular flow. A sick drum kit drives the song forward, with assured vocal spits and ominous piano keys building and breaking like genre-less waves.
Inventive rhymes, peaks and valleys, ingenious “duh duh duh duhhs,” and incredibly energizing artistry exude from the track. A guest appearance by 070 Shake provides welcome relief, and RAYE stands out as a force to be reckoned with on her own as the world begins to notice her talents. Intoxicating mix of Rihanna’s authority and amer mark’s sultry rhythm.
key lyric: “You're asking me my symptoms, doctor, I don't wanna feel”
Saddest Factory Records / Dead Oceans
8.
MUNA: “Anything But Me”
This is MUNA’s year. And that says something, considering they just announced an opening spot on Taylor Swift’s upcoming world tour, which is sure to elevate them to a pop status they’ve long deserved.
Their last album, 2019’s Save the World, glittered with pop gems that found humanity in friendship and self strength—it’s no wonder that 2022’s self-titled reintroduction to all things MUNA feels fully realized with unflinching portraits of self discovery, defiant stands, and budding emotion. “Anything But Me” enters with one of the best opening lines of the year: “You’re gonna say that I’m on a high horse / I think that my horse is regular sized,” amid insistent drum punches and self-assured lyrics.
Rather that burst open, however, the song introduces lofty vocal harmonies and summery guitars as the verses build to a chorus that begs you to dance through it all. MUNA is here, they know who they are, and they have so much to say.
key lyric: “Say I always had one foot out / Well, baby, I got two now / Good thing I've never been afraid of goodbye”
School Boy / Interscope Records
7.
Carly Rae Jepsen: “The Loneliest Time (feat. Rufus Wainwright)”
The first seconds of “The Loneliest Time (feat. Rufus Wainwright)” offer gentle instrumentation and airy vocals, before an expectant disco beat cracks the track open. Jepsen and Wainwright offer some of the best harmonies of the year here, gliding over strings and galactic synths with forlorn admissions.
The track buds open around the 2:50 mark, with the now-infamous “what happened was / we reached the moon / and lost in space I think we got there all too soon / but you know what? / I’m coming back for you, baby / I’m coming back for you!” Refrain by Jepsen strikes gold. The track is a carefree meditation on the realities of love and loneliness, chock full of lush production and vocal serendipity. Disco’s back, baby.
key lyric: “I’m coming over tonight / knock on your door just like before”
Young Recordings Limited under exclusive license to Atlantic Recording Corp. for the world excluding UK and Eire
6.
FKA Twigs: “oh my love”
“I went out with this boy once, yeah” FKA Twigs starts on “oh my love,” one of several standouts from this year’s (somewhat) surprise release CAPRISONGS. The album offers dramatic and fully realized highs and lows, assembling intimate voice notes and experimental bare-bones pop for an effort that is as exciting as it is raw.
“oh my love” utilizes glitchy, fuzzy drums from a distance to usher in her saccharine, breathy voice before bright guitar budges its way in. She has undeniable flow, somersaulting between drenched bass strums and heavy beats as flittering lyrics detail something of a conversation between twigs and a lover. It strikes a balance between chill bop and party track, as easily sung under the streams of a long shower as it is in the darker corners of a house party with a lover still undecided. Like most of CAPRISONGS, the track marks a fresh and exciting experiment in the intimately ferocious world of FKA twigs.
key lyric: “Everybody knows that I want your love / Why you playing, baby boy, what's up?”
Daughters of Cain Records
5.
Ethel Cain: “American Teenager”
The dreamy guitars that open “American Teenager” don’t hint at how ferocious a track Ethel Cain manages to deliver at only 24 years old. The third sleeper hit single for her debut studio album, Preacher’s Daughter, mulls over familiar territory with fresh eyes and new connections. With an evangelical (album title) and nationalist (song title) backdrop, “American Teenager” opens with lyrics as crisply poetic as they are deeply unsettling. They unfold like a prayer and a match stick, Cain growing up “under yellow light” with all her faith set in church and football teams—staples of the American dream and its cultural aesthetic, seemingly all we’re taught to live for—yet both end up letting her down when she needs them most. As the airiness from its opening strums gives way to desperate snare drum hits and frustrated vocal roars, Ethel Cain makes a successful introduction to her talents and point of view. Her world is the same as ours, but her songwriting and social media presence prove an interesting combination for an artist already turning in incredible work at the seeming start of her career. Between fist-swings, cold wars, and tearful bleachers, “American Teenager” manages to paint a devastating picture of small-town reality from a perspective that doesn’t quite fit the aesthetic. Cain paints the picture with unflinching accuracy, but also seems to find some personal growth (and maybe even some semblance of hope) amid the pain, ending the standout with fresh-cut catharsis.
key lyric: “Crying in the bleachers and I said it was fun / I don't need anything from anyone / It's just not my year”
Asylum Records UK / Warner Music UK Limited
4.
Charli XCX: “Crash”
The opening itself is a crash. Impeccably layered staccato vocals snap the song into focus, before an audacious drum beat straight out of the 90s ushers in one of the slickest electric guitar riffs this year. It’s a perfect, poetic opening to Charli XCX’s final album under her record deal, and a perfect signal of what is to come over the course of the album (of the same name).
She’s comfortable, in command, and in control of her own chaotic pop destiny. “I’m high voltage / self-destrictive / end it all so legendary,” she croons over a nostalgic-yet-somehow-still-future backing beat, giving into the pleasures of pure pop perfection at the top of an instant classic album of bangers, ballads, and bops (“Beg for You (feat. Rina Sawayama),” “Every Rule,” and “Yuck,” respectively).
The true intentions of her shift from hyperpop pioneer to mainstream megastar are continuously debated (especially in the queer community), but there is no doubt that the shift was a genius move at this stage in her career. She has fully embraced the trappings of a major label pop star, continued to push the envelope with how inventive a pop earworm can be, and managed to stay true to her sound while introducing something different to her discography. She might be “in her sellout era,” but the music is just so damn good—polished, progressive, part of a character arc—that it all really doesn’t matter. “Crash” encapsulates the master strokes of the album, proving that Charli will never stop making good pop. It has yet to show any signs of wear after an unimaginable number of listens on staple playlists, proving its achievement as a bona fide, career-marking turn from one of pop’s most exciting voices.
key lyric: “I’m high voltage, self-destructive, end it all so legendary”
Pretty Swede Records / mtheory
3.
Tove Lo: “No One Dies From Love”
Maybe Tove Lo hasn’t read Romeo and Juliet yet. We simply don’t care (and are FAR better for it).
The lead single from this year’s Dirt Femme, the Swede popstar’s fifth (and first independently-released) album seems to make peace with the fact that love can feel like death as much as life. The track opens with stacked synths—a staple in the star’s new disco direction—as vocal admissions and unsure synths start to build. “It escalated so fast / we yelled things we can’t take back,” she sings before utterly ethereal production sees Tove winking at Imogen Heap (“Hide and Seek”).
The track is a slow burner at first, as most of her pinnacle tracks are, before bursting into a mega-dance drum kit around the one minute mark. “Keep writing letters I’ll never send, don’t want you moving on when it’s my end,” she admits before the percussion and synthesizers themselves escalate into a cathartic pop ballad in the likes of Robyn. The beat asks you to move your body, the lyrics hoping for honest release—“No One Dies From Love” is a career-defining track from an artist obsessed with the highs and lows of human connection. The short film music video only seals the deal.
key lyric: “No one dies from love / Guess I’ll be the first”
Celsius Girls under exclusive license to Polyvinyl Record Co.
2.
Alvvays: “Belinda Says”
Alvvays managed something special with Blue Rev, their latest album chock full of standout tracks and sonic exploration. Like many songs (and themes) on the album, “Belinda Says” teeters on the line between minimal and maximal, taking big swings with big rewards in a song that takes inspiration from Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth.” Rather than dwell in the technicolor saccharine sugar of devoted lover, however, lead singer and songwriter Molly Rankin counters Belinda’s declaration with a somber realization: if heaven is a place on earth, so is hell. She holds that outright admission until the last minute, however, reveling in dynamic swings between delicate tones (the first 10 seconds) and blown-out guitar riffs (the next 10 seconds).
“I can’t explain my ankle sprain, I din’t really feel it,” Rankin Sings to open the song with a specifically universal feeling that any listener can grasp without any true certainty of its meaning. Alvvays is at their best here, masterfully swinging between intimate lyric admissions and lush instrumentals.
The track near stays in one place for too long, creating little nuggets of perfection every thirty seconds (“moving to the country, gonna have that baby / waiting tables in town, I know word gets around / moving to the country, gonna have this baby / see how it goes, see how it grows.” Rankin declares that she’s found herself at a loss before an eleventh-hour key change up, signaling something like an epiphany with lyrical gems like “I’ll egress to Inverness / with nothing in my pocket.”
Alvvays may have captured the mainstream with their YEAR hit, “Marry Me Archie,” but “Belinda Says” just might be their (as of yet) crowning moment. The final seconds see Rankin reach new vocal heights before an explosive guitar riff leads the song into some uncertain sunset.
key lyric: “Bеlinda says that heaven is a place on еarth / Well, so is hell / And we'll all get help paradise / And we'll start another life”
Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
1.
ROSALÍA: “SAOKO”
Where do we start? Rosalía opens the colossal, artist-defining MOTOMAMI album with “SAOKO,” a seemingly impossible bop that begins with jazzy hi-hats and the now-iconic “chica que dices?” before a masterful dip into the nastiest bass line you’ve heard all year. It’s daring, progressive, and unpredictable—something only an artist as singular as Rosalía can pull off.
She opens the album with charisma and swagger, declaring “yo me transformo / I transform” over purposely choppy vocals, reminding us that she is never in one place for too long and always in control of her shapeshifting trajectory. It has its peaks and valleys like any dynamic standout, but the jazz break (around 1:27 of the 2:18 track) solidifies Rosalía as a risk-taker worth listening to, unafraid to dive headfirst into idiosyncratic, seemingly opposing sounds to find something brand new.
“SAOKO” is a once-a-year track that bursts open, flows smoothly, surprises every few seconds, and manages to reveal itself slightly anew with each fresh listen. Its final crescendo from vocal build to bombastic percussion in the last forty seconds solidifies its position at the top of 2022’s song list, cementing the Spanish singer as a star in constant state of rebirth.
The music video is perfect (as are all of her creative moves); the song timeless (teetering on the brink of heritage and futurity); and the artist as exciting as ever. Rosalía is at the pinnacle of her talents here, but you can’t help but wonder where else she’s yet to go.
key lyric: “Sé quién soy a donde vaya, nunca se me olvida / Yo manejo, Dio' me guía”
Rough translation: “I know who I am no matter where I go, I never forget (Uh, uh, uh) / I'm in the driver's seat, God's my guide”