TOP 100 SONGS: 90-81

 

 

90. Christine and the Queens - Je te vois enfin | 136 points (peak: #9)

89. Working Men’s Club - Ploys | 136 points (peak: #8)

88. Romy & Fred again.. - Strong | 137 points (peak: #8)

87. UNIIQU3 - Touch (Leonce Remix) | 137 points (peak: #5)

86. Shygirl - Cleo | 138 points

85. Wet Leg - Chaise Longue | 139 points

84. ROSALÍA - DIABLO | 141 points | (peak: #9)

83. House of Harm - Feel My Heart Beat | 141 points (peak: #8)

82. Wet Leg - Wet Dream | 141 points (peak: #7)

81. Shygirl - Come For Me | 144 points

 

Kicking off today's section is Christine and the Queens with the introduction to a brand new era. Chris now uses he/him pronouns and chose the name Redcar as an alter ego, hence the accompanying album name Redcar les adorables ètoiles. The single sitting here at #90 translates to "I finally see you" which feels appropriate with this rebirth. Unfortunately the reaction to this project felt very muted but I personally loved the dark, commanding synth sound of 'Je te vois enfin'. This description leads me nicely on to another track that could certainly be described as that. I've already written about Working Men's Club a lot during my top 3 albums section and here is their first appearance in the singles countdown. 'Ploys' achieved a third top 10 peak in a row for the group in my chart thanks to its enormous bassline and disillusioned 21st Century angst. Romy & Fred again.. are here to lighten the mood with a helping hand or two. I'm a big fan of The xx and follow their solo work as an extension of that. Fred again.. has been on my radar for a few years now and had quite the 2022 with his commercial break-through. Together these two delivered a lush, trance-influenced single that stands out in a positive way in today's electronic landscape. The lyrics offer hope to those who feel like they are suffering alone. UNIIQU3, a big deal in the Jersey Club world, is a name that I paid more attention to this year, thanks to Harry's BJSC nation Flynnonda, who unleashed 'Microdosing' on the contest. That entry came close to winning but was ultimately blocked by... me, with X-Perience. I believe this Leonce remix of 'Touch' was a Spotify Release Radar find. This is a curated playlist based on your listening habits to date. I'm so thankful that it brought me to this extremely fun and flirty remix. That club-ready bass and percussion is an audio feast. 'Cleo' is the first of two appearances for Shygirl in this section. This smashed in at #2 in my chart and had a pretty healthy run but it's a 2021 carry over, so lands fairly low as a result. I knew I was in for something special right away once those emotive, orchestral strings kicked in. They soon morph into a more expected house sound. But the entire song keeps up a fantasy feeling with lyrics incorporating none other than Cleopatra. Shygirl presents a confident and warm performance with lyrics like: "You got me feeling like a movie star, all eyes on me". She keeps things interesting by switching up her delivery between soft singing and rapping.

 

Wet Leg were a huge name in the British indie-rock world during 2022. Their eponymous debut album shot straight to #1 with impressive sales. I must admit that I didn't really get the fuss at first and initially found 'Chaise Longue' a bit too gimmicky and annoying. However, its charm eventually caught up with me and I did a 180 on it. I mean, as a Mean Girls fan, I couldn't really deny a song that includes: "would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?" within its lyrics, for too long. That post-punk style riff is a gem too. The live energy of it during their Mercury Prize performance slot won me over even more. Let's hope they get the chance to show it off at the BRITs too. Next up we have the mastermind behind my #1 record of the year, ROSALÍA. 'DIABLO' is, unsurprisingly, the first of many appearances for her as the MOTOMAMI domination on my chart was quite something. This song addresses "sell out" comments and her response to this is, essentially, vowing to stay true to her artistic vision always. This is as off-kilter as ever with its blend of eerie electronic sounds and experimental reggaeton. It also features uncredited vocals from James Blake which was a marvellous surprise to me when I was a first time listener. I have had the pleasure of witnessing both of these artists live as he was the support act for Kendrick Lamar during his 2018 shows. At #83 we have the towering sounds of House of Harm. This band were another BJSC discovery originally thanks to Bré's nation sending the electric 'Vicious Pastimes'. This is another brilliant gothic-tinged post-punk stormer with rather claustrophobic lyrics. The penultimate single in this section is the second appearance for Wet Leg. This squeaked ahead of 'Chaise Longue' by just 2 points, in a tie with both 'DIABLO' and 'Feel My Heart Beat' - ultimately winning out with a higher peak. 'Wet Dream', just like 'Chaise Longue', is another song that took its time to grow on me. I initially found it a bit irritating but this band clearly have a knack for eventually worming their way into my affections. In the end it was perfect for the summer months, with its breezy sound and their light-hearted approach to tackling an ex who openly admits to having post-break up fantasies about you. The music video is good fun with its lobster claws and all. Wrapping up this section is another appearance from the very talented Shygirl! This one takes us right up to date with her latest album Nymph. I was very excited for this song after reading that Arca had been involved with the production. It wasn't as in-your-face as I was expecting, but still quirky of course and certainly pretty addictive. Shygirl pitch-shifts and the instrumentation follows her along just right. I appreciate the unusual structure, whereby the verses and chorus spill into each other as one long, continuous earworm. The lyrics and their execution are as commanding and sensual as ever.

Here are my favourites from your list:

94. Kendrick Lamar - Auntie Diaries | 134 points (peak: #8, weeks on chart: 5)

92. Taylor Swift - Carolina | 135 points (peak: #7)

91. Ed Harrison - Dive | 135 points (peak: #6)

90. Christine and the Queens - Je te vois enfin | 136 points (peak: #9)

88. Romy & Fred again.. - Strong | 137 points (peak: #8)

Hi Jade :hi:

 

Belatedly catching up on this, loving that album collage and the write ups - very nicely done.

 

Yay for Dua appearing at #2 for tours! I've watched some fan uploads and of course the virtual show she did, and loved both. She's grown so much as a performer. Maybe for my own health, it's for the best I don't see her in the flesh :lol:

 

I'm so happy you finally got to see Gaga live! I saw her during the Born This Way Ball and that was one of the best nights of my life (not exaggerating). She promised she would be back in SA after that night, but she lied :cry:

 

Some fantastic album picks! Shygirl, Tove Lo and Weyes Blood especially. Also love the Soccer Mommy album, but Color Theory is still my go-to Mommy album (highly recommended it). I heard bits and pieces of the Gabe Gurnsey album which have sounded fab. I really need to get around to listening to it in full!

 

Songs countdown is off to a fantastic start. Carrier Signal was my first Kai track to chart after also being lured in by Between Lures which I now like more in hindsight. Sporadic music releaser Sky sneaking in as well! I loved the grungy synth-pop of that song and how in sync her vocals were with the chords.

 

I'm most buzzing to see my faves Overmono making it in! They are overdue a viral TikTok moment. Their sound is so fresh and unique. I never tire of it and Gunk was a massive highlight in what was a fantastic year for them, including a BJSC top 10 with their best track Bby :wub:

 

Also a fan of the Christine and Romy tracks (loved your v accurate description of the latter), and the Shygirl double whammy. Come For Me which was a bit out-there initially, did end up growing on me a lot, but too late to impact my chart.

Here are my favourites from your list:

94. Kendrick Lamar - Auntie Diaries | 134 points (peak: #8, weeks on chart: 5)

92. Taylor Swift - Carolina | 135 points (peak: #7)

91. Ed Harrison - Dive | 135 points (peak: #6)

90. Christine and the Queens - Je te vois enfin | 136 points (peak: #9)

88. Romy & Fred again.. - Strong | 137 points (peak: #8)

Ooh great to see some more love for 'Dive' as that is definitely one of the most obscure picks here so far.

 

thank you for commenting :heart:

 

Hi Jade :hi:

 

Belatedly catching up on this, loving that album collage and the write ups - very nicely done.

 

Yay for Dua appearing at #2 for tours! I've watched some fan uploads and of course the virtual show she did, and loved both. She's grown so much as a performer. Maybe for my own health, it's for the best I don't see her in the flesh :lol:

 

I'm so happy you finally got to see Gaga live! I saw her during the Born This Way Ball and that was one of the best nights of my life (not exaggerating). She promised she would be back in SA after that night, but she lied :cry:

 

Some fantastic album picks! Shygirl, Tove Lo and Weyes Blood especially. Also love the Soccer Mommy album, but Color Theory is still my go-to Mommy album (highly recommended it). I heard bits and pieces of the Gabe Gurnsey album which have sounded fab. I really need to get around to listening to it in full!

 

Songs countdown is off to a fantastic start. Carrier Signal was my first Kai track to chart after also being lured in by Between Lures which I now like more in hindsight. Sporadic music releaser Sky sneaking in as well! I loved the grungy synth-pop of that song and how in sync her vocals were with the chords.

 

I'm most buzzing to see my faves Overmono making it in! They are overdue a viral TikTok moment. Their sound is so fresh and unique. I never tire of it and Gunk was a massive highlight in what was a fantastic year for them, including a BJSC top 10 with their best track Bby :wub:

 

Also a fan of the Christine and Romy tracks (loved your v accurate description of the latter), and the Shygirl double whammy. Come For Me which was a bit out-there initially, did end up growing on me a lot, but too late to impact my chart.

Hey Kath :hi: thank you for taking the time to catch up :heart: glad you liked the write-ups and collage, there have been quite a lot of standout album covers this year. I swore to myself that I would tone down my usual paragraph lengths, however I still couldn't help but run wild for the albums :kink: have forced myself to do so for songs otherwise I will never get this done.

 

I thought you would appreciate the Dua mention *.* she really surprised me in a good way despite loving Future Nostalgia so much. She's definitely come a long way since people used to mock her dancing online! I'm sure you'd have the time of your life :lol: so jealous that you got to go to the Born This Way Ball!! I was a bit too young to be a regular concert-goer at that point, so happy I've finally fulfilled that childhood wish, alongside seeing the Spice Girls a few years ago.

 

:cheer: I really need to go back and listen to more Tove albums as this is the only one I've heard from her :o :drama: the Shygirl album was such a bopfest *.* and the Weyes one was stunning <3 watch out for her in the songs countdown too! Thanks for the album recommendation, definitely need to give that one a go. I'd been meaning to check out Diablo based off the strength of 'Push' and 'Higher Estates' and finally got round to it a few weeks ago - was not disappointed! 'You Remind Me' was my biggest standout from those I didn't already know :heart:

 

Yay for us both making a great discovery out of Kai this year *.* such a promising young talent. :lol: here's hoping we get more from Sky this decade :cry: the dark edge is definitely appealing!

 

Omg yes zoomers make Overmono happen now!! BJSC voters had taste at least :clap: yay more Christine love as this era feels v underrated <3 oh yes 'Come For Me' was definitely an off-kilter sound, to be expected with Arca on board I guess! Glad it ended up growing on you *.*

Hey Jade! Loving all of these songs so far:

 

97. Alvan & Ahez - Fulenn

93. Sky Ferreira - Don’t Forget

92. Taylor Swift - Carolina

90. Christine and the Queens - Je te vois enfin

86. Shygirl - Cleo

81. Shygirl - Come For Me

 

Fulenn became a real fave of mine following Eurovision (unfortunately Europe is apparently tasteless and let it flop??), for me it goes alongside SHUM as one of the most memorable recent entries - I'd love if more countries tried exploring their traditional sounds with a modern twist like that. Je te vois enfin grew on me massively after an underwhelming first impression, it's a real shame there's been no fanfare at all around Redcar though. And of course I'm always here for Shygirl, the dark club sound of Cleo has made that a firm Shygirl fave! ^_^

Hey Jade! Loving all of these songs so far:

 

97. Alvan & Ahez - Fulenn

93. Sky Ferreira - Don’t Forget

92. Taylor Swift - Carolina

90. Christine and the Queens - Je te vois enfin

86. Shygirl - Cleo

81. Shygirl - Come For Me

 

Fulenn became a real fave of mine following Eurovision (unfortunately Europe is apparently tasteless and let it flop??), for me it goes alongside SHUM as one of the most memorable recent entries - I'd love if more countries tried exploring their traditional sounds with a modern twist like that. Je te vois enfin grew on me massively after an underwhelming first impression, it's a real shame there's been no fanfare at all around Redcar though. And of course I'm always here for Shygirl, the dark club sound of Cleo has made that a firm Shygirl fave! ^_^

Hey Ansel :hi:

 

'Fulenn' was so stand-out, it's a real shame that it didn't connect for whatever reason as it's not like all left-field entries flop, like 'SHUM' that you mention. Boo! Ooh I'm glad that 'Je te vois enfin' proved to be a grower for you <3 the follow-up singles were pretty good as well although I didn't love the whole album as much as I thought I would. 'Cleo' really is brilliant :wub: it's a shame that it stalled at #2 in my chart - that's the second time she's ended up there. Hopefully a #1 smash awaits at some point!

 

thank you for commenting :heart:

Well, I didn't know any songs from 100-91 very well (I initially read Ed Harrison as Ed Sheeran, especially with a song called 'Dive'... probably just me), but I know and like at least half those from 90-81: Ploys, Strong, Cleo (I'd given this one several plays last year, but couldn't recall it from its title so played it again and it clicked) and the two Wet Leg songs. I particularly like the rhymes in Chaise Longue while Wet Dream has those to-the-point verses punctuated by that deadpan "Let's begin", and both have some of the best guitar pop riffs I've heard in the last few years. I'll definitely check out some of the others!

Giving Come For Me a listen now, it's an interesting song musically! The disc-scratching throughout the song I think works quite well. Fulenn was a decent Eurovision song as well, nice to see France going a bit experimental but it did end up around where I expected it to on the night unfortunately.

Well, I didn't know any songs from 100-91 very well (I initially read Ed Harrison as Ed Sheeran, especially with a song called 'Dive'... probably just me), but I know and like at least half those from 90-81: Ploys, Strong, Cleo (I'd given this one several plays last year, but couldn't recall it from its title so played it again and it clicked) and the two Wet Leg songs. I particularly like the rhymes in Chaise Longue while Wet Dream has those to-the-point verses punctuated by that deadpan "Let's begin", and both have some of the best guitar pop riffs I've heard in the last few years. I'll definitely check out some of the others!

Oops, I guess 'Carolina' was the only one in that section to make the official chart and even that was a blink-or-you'll miss it #63, which was later overshadowed by a new album. There definitely are some top 40 hits coming up! Ha, can see why you may have misread that :lol: happy to hear that you're a fan of quite a few in that next section - it's great to be able to tune into Radio 1 occasionally and potentially be treated to the likes of Wet Leg, Shygirl or Fred Again.. <3 hooray for this re-introducing you to 'Cleo' - it has been a joy to revisit it myself this week. I agree that the guitar riffs on those are really strong, the addictive nature of them really helped the songs grow on me and eventually I learned to appreciate the charm of the lyrics more. Hope you enjoy some others! <3

 

thank you for commenting :heart:

 

Giving Come For Me a listen now, it's an interesting song musically! The disc-scratching throughout the song I think works quite well. Fulenn was a decent Eurovision song as well, nice to see France going a bit experimental but it did end up around where I expected it to on the night unfortunately.

Ooh thanks for checking it out! Arca is always an interesting name where production is concerned *.* I wish I'd had lower expectations for 'Fulenn' oops, I didn't think it was a huge smash or anything but didn't quite anticipate it being that low, ouch :lol:

 

thank you for commenting :heart:

:cheeseblock: wow, that is very good going *.*

 

Oh yes I am hyped to see the Paola & Chiara comeback unfold at Sanremo festival! Plus my PFSC artist Madame is part of the line-up too. I haven't listened to the Neotokyo soundtrack in full but everything I know from it, when potential hunting, is great so I'm happy that his music continued to be of good quality 14 years later. Ooh I had forgotten that you discovered 'Gunk' from my chart! Well, I'm definitely pleased to hear that it lead to a great artist discovery in general, the EP is fab. Here's hoping a commercial break-through may happen one day. Lmao, yes, Sky must be a frustrating artist to follow regularly :kink: I wasn't too well versed in her music since 'One' so I picked it back up at a very good place. You may be on to something there ��

 

'Carolina' feels sooo underrated so I'm glad that you appreciate it too! I guess we previously clashed with our Taylor soundtrack opinions, with me liking 'Safe & Sound' a lot more than you :kink: oh yeah, the ZAYN collab is a pretty mediocre one to have been the one to take off oops. I've actually appreciated 'Only The Young' more in recent times after watching Miss Americana on the plane to my last holiday, the creation process was interesting to watch. I guess that's more of a promo single that a soundtrack one, but still, was definitely tied to that documentary! I had forgotten that Denzel and slowthai had as many as 3 collabs :o this really was an enjoyable swerve *.* yeah I hear you, I definitely need to be in the right mood to hear songs like 'Auntie Diaries' and 'We Cry Together', but both have really strong emotional impact.

 

Let's hope TR/ST pulls through with more material this year as 'The Shore' was a very good taste! Yeah I loved how much of a switch-up 'Fulenn' was for France <3 I really didn't see that bomb coming oops, maybe swayed by my own love for it, but let's hope they're not totally discouraged from risks going forward :( they do have AQ status after all. Yay, look out for quite a few 2021 carry overs making the cut - one is very high in particular! Tbf Kai has been very consistent in recent times so understandable if your least favourite is still something you'd consider good. Speaking of Iglooghost... definitely one to watch for my 2023 EOY with 'Rust Genome' doing so well in my personal chart at the moment :kink:

 

Oh yes at Madame being there too ofc, double the chance for one of your song contest artists to go to Eurovision! (I don't think any of mine have popped up in Eurovision to date although Daughters Of Reykjavík came close, maybe another year). Tbf one of those previous Denzel/slowthai collabs ('terms') is easy to forget was a collab as Denzel barely featured on it :kink: and I don't think you charted either that or their first collab 'PSYCHO' (that one was a #1 for me, just a tad better than the Anne-Marie/Aitch collab of the same name :P) Also had forgotten that TR/ST did have another song with 'RAZR' (just from a soundtrack) which I just finally listened to the other day and really enjoyed that too - indeed fingers crossed for more stuff in 2023 anyway!

 

~

 

Still at 19/20 songs so far that are also on my shuffle playlist, 'Wet Dream' is the first one that I'm not too keen on, I think my frustrations with Wet Leg's single choices are quite well-known now haha, always just seen that song as a weaker iteration of the same gimmick 'Chaise Longue' did which I also wasn't a massive fan of at first but ended up growing on me a fair bit. They are definitely an interesting band who I think have the potential to put out a better body of work in the future (especially off the quality of more serious songs like 'Angelica' and 'Being In Love') but their debut was a very mixed bag for me. I really hope if they do get a BRITs performance they use it to showcase a less gimmicky song but who am I kidding it'd definitely just be 'Chaise Longue' again wouldn't it :kink:

 

To no surprise my favourite from this section is the ROSALÍA song, 'DIABLO' absolutely slaps and surprise James Blake vocals are always welcomed of course, another great moment from her concert. 'Je Te Vois Enfin' another big fave, love the somewhat gritty lo-fi sound to it though I can see why it didn't go down amazingly well with the fanbase compared to past material but I'm still here for it. 'Strong' also a great track, 2 for 2 on the Romy/Fred collabs - I used to be a fan of almost anything trance but unfortunately got a little bored of the genre over the years but there are still the occasional gems and this is definitely one of them, I do love the lyrics as you highlighted. And glad you have been continuing to enjoy House Of Harm post BJSC, another one where it seems to have been a one off release (well, a double A-Side with 'In Threes') rather than leading into a new album so patiently awaiting more post-punky goodness from them.

 

My favourite from this Shygirl era was 'Firefly' which, looking back at your chart run for it, I presume didn't quite make the cut here - but 'Come For Me' was a good follow-up too even if not quite hitting as hard as I wanted for an Arca production credit. Not heard 'Cleo' for a while but I do remember it being a good tune too, real shame she didn't put that on the album even just as a bonus track! And that 'Touch' remix was one I definitely wouldn't have come across without it appearing in your chart so hooray for your Release Radar as that is a banger too, I wonder if UNIIQU3 could have some chance of getting a viral hit since the Jersey club sound is having a bit of a moment recently with the current hits from Lil Uzi Vert and Coi Leray.

Oh yes at Madame being there too ofc, double the chance for one of your song contest artists to go to Eurovision! (I don't think any of mine have popped up in Eurovision to date although Daughters Of Reykjavík came close, maybe another year). Tbf one of those previous Denzel/slowthai collabs ('terms') is easy to forget was a collab as Denzel barely featured on it :kink: and I don't think you charted either that or their first collab 'PSYCHO' (that one was a #1 for me, just a tad better than the Anne-Marie/Aitch collab of the same name :P) Also had forgotten that TR/ST did have another song with 'RAZR' (just from a soundtrack) which I just finally listened to the other day and really enjoyed that too - indeed fingers crossed for more stuff in 2023 anyway!

 

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Still at 19/20 songs so far that are also on my shuffle playlist, 'Wet Dream' is the first one that I'm not too keen on, I think my frustrations with Wet Leg's single choices are quite well-known now haha, always just seen that song as a weaker iteration of the same gimmick 'Chaise Longue' did which I also wasn't a massive fan of at first but ended up growing on me a fair bit. They are definitely an interesting band who I think have the potential to put out a better body of work in the future (especially off the quality of more serious songs like 'Angelica' and 'Being In Love') but their debut was a very mixed bag for me. I really hope if they do get a BRITs performance they use it to showcase a less gimmicky song but who am I kidding it'd definitely just be 'Chaise Longue' again wouldn't it :kink:

 

To no surprise my favourite from this section is the ROSALÍA song, 'DIABLO' absolutely slaps and surprise James Blake vocals are always welcomed of course, another great moment from her concert. 'Je Te Vois Enfin' another big fave, love the somewhat gritty lo-fi sound to it though I can see why it didn't go down amazingly well with the fanbase compared to past material but I'm still here for it. 'Strong' also a great track, 2 for 2 on the Romy/Fred collabs - I used to be a fan of almost anything trance but unfortunately got a little bored of the genre over the years but there are still the occasional gems and this is definitely one of them, I do love the lyrics as you highlighted. And glad you have been continuing to enjoy House Of Harm post BJSC, another one where it seems to have been a one off release (well, a double A-Side with 'In Threes') rather than leading into a new album so patiently awaiting more post-punky goodness from them.

 

My favourite from this Shygirl era was 'Firefly' which, looking back at your chart run for it, I presume didn't quite make the cut here - but 'Come For Me' was a good follow-up too even if not quite hitting as hard as I wanted for an Arca production credit. Not heard 'Cleo' for a while but I do remember it being a good tune too, real shame she didn't put that on the album even just as a bonus track! And that 'Touch' remix was one I definitely wouldn't have come across without it appearing in your chart so hooray for your Release Radar as that is a banger too, I wonder if UNIIQU3 could have some chance of getting a viral hit since the Jersey club sound is having a bit of a moment recently with the current hits from Lil Uzi Vert and Coi Leray.

*.* really hyped to hear her song as I loved her self-titled album enough to get it on vinyl. Daughters Of Reykjavík ofc robbed D: Ah I see, I'll make sure to revisit 'PSYCHO' even if that song title is a bit tainted at the moment xo oh yeah how did I forget about 'RAZR'?! That was only a few months ago :lol: oops.

 

I remembered that you weren't too keen on 'Wet Dream' so did think that would spoil the perfect streak quite quickly when I spotted it coming up :kink: ah well, 19/20 is still very good going! I agree with what you're saying, I think their debut is a solid springboard (enough to squeak into my top 30 albums of the year) but hopefully their sophomore album can consistently bring it more. Well, now we know they do have a BRITs performance coming up *.* they did sing 'Chaise Longue' for the Mercury Prize ceremony so wouldn't be surprised at all if they brought that out again.

 

Hooray for some 'DIABLO' love <3 they should definitely keep working together after how good 'Barefoot In The Park' was too. Yeah I suppose 'Jet Te Vois Enfin' does have quite a lo-fi sound to it despite being synthtastic. Romy and Fred.. another great double act on top of ROSALÍA and James *.* I guess she works rather well with two certain other guys too xx aw, it's a shame that you got bored of the trance sound, but good that you still connected with this one nevertheless - it really is lovely. Yes House Of Harm have been a great artist discovery so far! Fingers crossed for a new album at some point.

 

Oh yes 'Firefly' has sadly fallen a bit short but is still within the top 150 at least. She's been on fire in general tbh! Yesss I was gutted that 'Cleo' didn't make the cut at all, it's too good to be a droplet :( Release Radar is a right treasure trove <3 even if occasionally it pulls up fake versions of artists :kink: ooh yes I'd love UNIIQU3 to break through!

TOP 100 SONGS: 80-71

 

 

80. She Pleasures Herself - Trust | 145 points

79. Beyoncé - CHURCH GIRL | 147 points (peak: #8)

78. Tove Lo - True Romance | 147 points (peak: #5)

77. Ed Harrison - Tachi | 148 points (peak: #3, weeks on chart: 5, weeks in the top 10: 2)

76. The Weeknd - Gasoline | 148 points (peak: #3, weeks on chart: 5, weeks in the top 10: 3)

75. Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale (feat. Tanna Leone) | 149 points (peak: #7)

74. Taylor Swift - All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) | 149 points (peak: #1)

73. Paola & Chiara - Vamos a bailar (Esta vida nueva) | 150 points

72. Dave - In the Fire | 151 points

71. FLO - Immature | 152 points

 

Today we begin with the first of a triple whammy of Jadakissnia entries! This is my BuzzJack Song Contest nation for those who don't follow our very own version of Eurovision on here. I sent the rather risqué sounding She Pleasures Herself with the song 'Trust' for my landmark 75th entry. It is a pounding darkwave track which felt very at home in my country's back catalogue. This was a brand new nationality for Jadakissnia though as they're a Portuguese group. It finished in a pretty unremarkable 29th place but at least qualified for the final. At #79 is a far more familiar name as Beyoncé makes her first appearance here. I instantly took to 'CHURCH GIRL' with its in-your-face fusion of Hip-Hop, R&B, Chicago House, Gospel and more. I think the line "I was born free" perfectly encapsulates the mood of this one. She really lets loose and even includes a line about "tig old bitties" as part of the fun. The energy of the production is relentless and the chorus promises to be an earworm. Her album is well loved across the forum but this particular song feels rather underrated. At #78 is another strong name in pop albeit one who doesn't quite get the commercial attention she deserves nowadays. 'True Romance' was released as the third single from Tove Lo's latest album Dirt Femme (as 'How Long' was later included too, after initially being known as a soundtrack song) and certainly kept me interested after enjoying the first two singles too. She pushes her vocals to a really uncomfortable place in the chorus, which could be polarising, but I personally think it illustrates the devotion of the lyrics just perfectly. She'd "die for love and loyalty", after all. Speaking of the lyrics... I've just noticed that she mentions "popcorn" in this song and elsewhere on the album interpolates 'Popcorn' by Hot Butter - suddenly I'm hungry. 'True Romance' has a really intense build with its brooding synths and desperate vocal climax. This, like 'CHURCH GIRL', feels like another underrated moment from a well-loved album in pop circles. Ed Harrison is back with his second and final appearance, now. This is the second Jadakissnia BJSC entry to appear in this section and was a lot more successful in the competition than 'Trust'. It was an unexpected hit, bagging my nation a first top 10 result of the year with its #9 finish. 'Tachi' is an explosive rock-leaning instrumental that has a delicious trip-hop build-up. This was a bit of an obscure find, as it comes from the soundtrack to a 2009 shooter game called Neotokyo. I was spoilt for choice from this soundtrack but ultimately decided that this one had the biggest impact on me. Looks like I made the correct decision with this unearthed gem. At #76 we're back to well-known names as The Weeknd ensured that I had a new album to sink my teeth into as soon as 2022 began. 'Gasoline' is about drug abuse and depending on a relationship in the midst of this struggle. These themes fit the general dark tone of the album well. I adore the 80s synth style instrumentation here (thankfully a very present theme throughout Dawn FM) and the accent switch-up is memorable in a good way.

 

Kendrick Lamar is back with a second appearance already. 'Mr Morale' deals with tough themes but is presented in a pretty accessible way with energetic Pharrell beats beneath the words. The song is about generational trauma and even name-drops the disgraced R Kelly, who himself had a troubled early life. Kendrick is joined by Tanna Leone, plus the uncredited Sam Dew and spoken words towards the end from Eckhart Tolle. Overall it feels like a very authentic, human presentation of emotions and really stands out production-wise too. I also love the touch of the youthful, choral sounding backing vocals in places. Next we have my first #1 hit to drop out but this is a carry over from 2021. Taylor Swift is back already with a song that I needed 10 minutes of to truly appreciate. 'All Too Well' dates back to her Red era as a fan favourite album track. Fast-forward to the release of Red (Taylor's Version) and this song finally became a commercial force to be reckoned with almost 10 years later. 'All Too Well' is a real gut punch of a break-up song and is now delivered with more mature vocals and well justified extra time. I couldn't imagine Taylor singing "f*** the patriarchy" back in 2012 but these powerful words are effortlessly part of the package now. The "down the stairs, I was there, I was there..." repetitive outro from the new version gives me chills too. What was already a well-written song is elevated to a magical place. A 10 minute song reaching #1 in the U.S. and #3 in the U.K.? What a moment. The trajectory of Taylor's career has been a fascinating watch to date. Next it's time for the third and final Jadakissnia BJSC offering in this section. Paola & Chiara will soon be appearing in Italy's Eurovision selection, Sanremo festival, but first I happened to dig up an old European hit of theirs from 2000 to send to an online contest instead. This turned out to be a wise choice as it was my best result in 2022 - finishing in 5th. There are several versions of the song available so listeners have Italian, Spanish or Spanglish to choose from. But I opted for the Spanish version in the end. I found the sun-kissed Robert Miles-esque dance beats and euphoric chorus of this song too irresistible to pass up. I couldn't contain my excitement when I found out that Dave would be performing at the Brit Awards last year as his older performance of 'Black' had been my highlight of the entire night. I remember posting some fantasy choices for his slot and couldn't believe my ears when the introduction for 'In The Fire' began. Then it was performed in all 7 minutes of its glory. This had previously made my chart as a highlight from his hard-hitting We're All Alone In This Together album but advanced to #1 off the strength of another knock-out performance from him. Dave was joined by the uncredited vocalists on stage - rappers Fredo, Giggs, Ghetts and Meekz. Their goosebump-inducing, determined energy bounces off each other so well and naturally leads up to Dave's late entrance on his own song. I love the mix of serious topics ("I could've been deported, that's the definition of a fight-or-flight") and light-hearted lines like "Nobody puts baby in a corner, I uplift my girl like I'm Swayze in the water" and "can't walk in my shoes, you could be riskin' a bunion" :lol: the song is backed by a strong beat, atmospheric backing vocals and Dave's famous piano contributions. He is 2/2 for impressive albums now and is my favourite name in U.K. rap as a result. Rounding off this section is a girl-group who are being hyped to the high heavens right now. I'm of course talking about FLO who have now bagged a 'Rising Star' Brit Award and were named Radio 1's 'Sound of 2023' too. This was great to witness as I've been following the girls ever since 'Cardboard Box' was first gaining online traction. That made my chart but subsequent single 'Immature' is definitely my favourite release from them to date. It adds more of an electronic layer to the throwback 2000s R&B sound that they're nailing so far. Here they tear down a guy who is all talk but no action. Their smooth vocals shine as ever and I enjoyed the addition of the chopped up effect for the chorus drop.

Just giving 'Tachi' a listen as a random choice from your last 10 - sounding like a pretty decent instrumental! Enjoying how the song progresses throughout and all the different instruments used.

my faves from your top 100 so far:

97. Alvan & Ahez - Fulenn – this was certainly a highlight out of the eurovision songs this year

90. Christine and the Queens - Je te vois enfin

88. Romy & Fred again.. - Strong – beautiful track, could stick around in my chart for a while this year

86. Shygirl - Cleo

85. Wet Leg - Chaise Longue – not a huge fan of this myself but it seems they have some level of cross-gen appeal as my dad really likes this/their album and he's not often into new music !

77. Ed Harrison - Tachi

74. Taylor Swift - All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)

73. Paola & Chiara - Vamos a bailar (Esta vida nueva)

72. Dave - In the Fire – I was hoping he'd do Clash and bring out Stormzy at the Brits but this was probably an even better choice, Dave now 2 for 2 with being the highlight of a Brits evening

Carolina, Dive, ATW (10 Minute Version) and Gasoline are my favourites so far :wub:

 

Just gave ‘Immature’ a listen and really liking the sound of that too! <3

Hi Jade

 

Neither of the Kendrick tracks you've included in your top 100 are amongst my highlights from the album but I loved the album so much that they're still brilliant tracks. They're definitely two of the deeper and more reflective moments.

 

Loving the inclusion of 'In The Fire' too. Ghetts and Dave steal the show with the standout verses but I wish Giggs wasn't on the track. I just can't deal with the 'bunion' line you've quoted. :lol: Dave absolutely smashed the performance at the BRITS. He's such a brilliant live performer as I found out when I got to see him on tour a couple of weeks after.

 

Great countdown so far :D

Just giving 'Tachi' a listen as a random choice from your last 10 - sounding like a pretty decent instrumental! Enjoying how the song progresses throughout and all the different instruments used.

Ooh why not *.* I couldn't believe how well it did in BJSC :wub: I have had some hit instrumentals in the past but I thought this would maybe attract a few big fans at best. Glad you liked ^_^

 

thank you for commenting :heart:

 

my faves from your top 100 so far:

97. Alvan & Ahez - Fulenn – this was certainly a highlight out of the eurovision songs this year

90. Christine and the Queens - Je te vois enfin

88. Romy & Fred again.. - Strong – beautiful track, could stick around in my chart for a while this year

86. Shygirl - Cleo

85. Wet Leg - Chaise Longue – not a huge fan of this myself but it seems they have some level of cross-gen appeal as my dad really likes this/their album and he's not often into new music !

77. Ed Harrison - Tachi

74. Taylor Swift - All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)

73. Paola & Chiara - Vamos a bailar (Esta vida nueva)

72. Dave - In the Fire – I was hoping he'd do Clash and bring out Stormzy at the Brits but this was probably an even better choice, Dave now 2 for 2 with being the highlight of a Brits evening

Glad that you agree about 'Fulenn'! Makes sense that it would appeal to you as well when it's one of the more electronic leaning entries. Speaking of electronic... happy that 'Strong' gets so much love on this forum! It's done quite well to make an appearance here based off only a couple of months, strong chart runs for it ftw.

 

Haha that's interesting re. your dad, the way I actually got into the band was through my colleague recommending 'Angelica' to me and he's closer in age to my dad than to me. I had heard 'Chaise Longue' prior to that but it needed a few months to properly grow on me.

 

Yesss 'In The Fire' was such an inspired choice! I mean, it had been one of the charting songs on his album, but really it is 7 minutes long and without a chorus. I 100% agree with that assessment!

 

thank you for commenting :heart:

 

Carolina, Dive, ATW (10 Minute Version) and Gasoline are my favourites so far :wub:

 

Just gave ‘Immature’ a listen and really liking the sound of that too! <3

Oh wow consider me surprised (but thrilled!) with the amount of 'Dive' love so far *.* good to see the appreciation for Taylor and The Weeknd too, definitely more to come from both.

 

Oooooh so happy that you got a good discovery out of 'Immature' :wub:

 

thank you for commenting :heart:

 

Hi Jade

 

Neither of the Kendrick tracks you've included in your top 100 are amongst my highlights from the album but I loved the album so much that they're still brilliant tracks. They're definitely two of the deeper and more reflective moments.

 

Loving the inclusion of 'In The Fire' too. Ghetts and Dave steal the show with the standout verses but I wish Giggs wasn't on the track. I just can't deal with the 'bunion' line you've quoted. :lol: Dave absolutely smashed the performance at the BRITS. He's such a brilliant live performer as I found out when I got to see him on tour a couple of weeks after.

 

Great countdown so far :D

Hey Lewis! Great to see a couple of new faces in here overnight ^_^

 

Aw okay that's fair! Kendrick still has multiple appearances to come so maybe you'll be more into one of those. It really was a great album, worth the 5 year wait after DAMN.

 

:wub: it was an immediate highlight from the album anyway but the performance had a brand new profound impact on me. Hahahaha, I guess I just got to a place of ironically stanning the bunion line :lol: but that aside there is a lot of thought-provoking wordplay. I totally agree, he's great and I especially love when he shows off his piano talents too. Soooooo jealous :o (but glad you had a good time!)

 

thank you for commenting :heart:

All Too Well (10 Minute Version) is obviously a masterpiece! The 5 minute version is better for quick listening obviously but you can't not appreciate Taylor's songwriting and storytelling skills on the longer version, worthy of every accolade it can get :heart:

All Too Well (10 Minute Version) is obviously a masterpiece! The 5 minute version is better for quick listening obviously but you can't not appreciate Taylor's songwriting and storytelling skills on the longer version, worthy of every accolade it can get :heart:

:wub: I have apparently streamed the 10 minute version 35 times so a lot of time dedicated to this one song :lol: indeed it's a masterclass in songwriting from her <3

 

thank you for commenting :heart:

Back to a section where I have no real complaints about any of the songs, yay :kink:

 

Neat that both of your BJSC top 10 hits finished so close together here, though my ranking of the 3 is the exact opposite of both their contest finishes and their placings here - She Pleasures Herself was of course very up my street :heart: while 'Tachi' was a very nice discovery too and indeed a good surprise top 10 finish, Paola & Chiara also quite a bop though not quite in the upper echelon of Jadakissnia entries for me.

 

'Mr. Morale' feels like quite an overlooked track from the Kendrick album despite imo being one of the more accessible songs on there (and the title track!), have to stan the percussion. Likewise for both 'True Romance' and 'CHURCH GIRL' at least on here as you said, I do definitely see why some people weren't really into 'True Romance' and actually kind of surprised that I am as I tend to not be too into that kind of vocal performance but she really sells it on this occasion. 'CHURCH GIRL' is just a full fat banger though and anyone underrating it is just no fun tbh xx

 

'Gasoline' was definitely an instant highlight of Dawn FM for me too (eyebrow raising English accent aside :kink:) while the expanded 'All Too Well' and the BRITs performance of 'In The Fire' were really just epic moments that speak for themselves, definitely perched for any further Dave BRITs appearances as he really knows how to nail them :heart: and agreed with you that 'Immature' is the easy highlight of FLO's discog so far but I have been more a fan of them than I expected to be in general so far considering they feel very like a modern Sugababes and I have never been the biggest Sugababes fan.

 

All Too Well (10 Minute Version) is obviously a masterpiece! The 5 minute version is better for quick listening obviously but you can't not appreciate Taylor's songwriting and storytelling skills on the longer version, worthy of every accolade it can get :heart:

 

Incorrect tbh, the 10 minute version is now the only version in my eyes xx