Posted February 1Feb 1 Jim's EOY top 100 of 2025 I'm very late to the party this year, but whether you're interested, curious, or just visiting out of politeness, welcome to my third EOY thread on Buzzjack! In 2023, I ran my own personal chart as a weekly top 40 throughout the year. From this, I used the system of 40 points for a week at #1 down to 1 point for a week at #40 in producing my EOY top 100 of 2023 - the top 10 was: 01 | Rose Gray - Ecstasy02 | MRD - Last Dance03 | LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER - Time Is Not A Healer It’s A Fuel For Resentment04 | ACRAZE & Aviella - In A Dream05 | MRD & TDJ - Memories Of You06 | Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør - Stay Awhile07 | Loreen - Tattoo08 | Metric - False Dichotomy09 | Geo22 - Magic10 | Hannah Laing & RoRo - Good Love Then in 2024, I switched to a monthly top 40 of newly charted songs only, but with each song appearing only once. From these I took the top 10s from each month, and ranked the songs at each position in turn to flesh it into my EOY top 120 of 2024 - the top 10 therefore comprised 10 of my 12 monthly #1s, and it was:01 | Vampire Weekend - Capricorn 02 | Echoberyl - Weird Boy 03 | Jain - Nobody Knows 04 | GusGus, Högni, Earth - Breaking Down 05 | Sleater-Kinney - Crusader [Special Interest Remix] 06 | ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - APT. 07 | Attractive Chaos - Words On A Letter 08 | Gabby Martin - Cologne 09 | Etta Marcus - Skin Parade 10 | The Horrors - Lotus Eater In 2025, I reverted to a weekly top 40 from February onwards, charting 453 songs during the year (only slightly fewer than the 480 in 2024), with only one carried over from 2024 (which features somewhere in this EOY). I've then used the same tried and trusted system as my 2023 EOY to rank the songs, and so here the top 100 will appear!I'm not planning to write hugely detailed commentaries this year - although some songs I could end up writing a lot more about than others - and I'm not sure how much time people will want to spend reading them by now, so I had considered just posting the full list and playlist, but I will aim for something between the two, and hope to wrap it up by the end of this month. First 10 songs at 100-91 coming soon!
February 2Feb 2 Author #100 -> #91#100 Jax Jones, Ado - Stay Gold (140 points) [16-13-11-14-21-31]#99 DJ_Dave - Hard Refresh (143 points) [19-16-12-14-19-23]#98 Joone, Kat Koan - Burned In Time (144 points) [24-22-17-15-16-20-29]#97 Humanoids - Mindroid (146 points) [27-22-18-16-16-16-26]#96 VACUUM MAN - Alimut (146 points) [08-10-13-16-23-30+]#95 Joji - Past Won't Leave My Bed (149 points) [22-22-20-20-18-18-18+]#94 KÄSSY - i-i-i (151 points) [34-14-09-10-17-20-32]#93 Jasper Tygner - First Light (152 points) [22-20-20-20-20-20-22-32]#92 Cruel Sister - IRON PILLS (152 points) [35-31-26-22-24-19-17-18-25]#91 Kathleen Edwards - Save Your Soul (153 points) [23-10-11-13-20-26-31]An electronic-heavy section to start with. It will be a while until the first commercial hit appears - Jax Jones has at least had some in the past, but few as good as this, thanks to some huge vocals from Ado. Making an EOY appearance for the second year in a row, DJ_Dave coded up this frantic banger. A more darkwave turn next for Joone (not to be confused with the then-similarly named Joon Gloom, now Ms* Gloom, whose BJSC hit-predating 'Jinx!' just missed this countdown at #109) with the spoken vocals of Kat Koan creating some late night drive vibes. The most trippy so far comes from Humanoids over a six minute tranccey instrumental, interspersed with a child's freakishly chopped up spoken vocal. The first BJSC hit to appear is one I discovered in the contest itself, from Bré's nation Persephonia, as VACUUM MAN move from a banging bass-heavy intro to an acid outro via some vocals I can't translate but fit the medium perfectly.Joji had one of my favourite songs of 2022 in 'Glimpse Of Us', and it's another heartbreak ballad from him that wove its way in this time. One of my own BJSC entries is next from KÄSSY as it became my most recent one, but despite 12 voters in the semi, this sparkling indie-pop song of hers went no further there. Jasper Tygner would be a more reliable hitmaker in such a contest, but for now we can enjoy the elegant electronic instrumental above. More unsettling vibes are next from Cruel Sister with the longest chart climb of anything so far. As if for complete contrast, Kathleen Edwards rounds out this first section with a slice of radio-ready rock that could have been huge in the 90s.
February 3Feb 3 Author #90 -> #81#90 Eli Mich - I Told You (153 points) [08-11-13-16-19-26]#89 Eagles & Butterflies, Annie - Next 2 U (156 points) [19-17-17-15-15-21-27]#88 SASAMI, Clairo - In Love With A Memory (158 points) [25-16-13-18-19-20-25-34]#87 SASAMI - Just Be Friends (159 points) [26-24-16-13-15-19-23-33]#86 Patrick Wolf - Dies Irae (160 points) [35-31-31-31-31-27-26-26-26-26-28-30-32-34]#85 Ruthlss - Ascension (160 points) [06-10-12-15-18-25]#84 The Weeknd - Open Hearts (161 points) [15-12-10-11-19-26-33]#83 Lady Gaga - How Bad Do U Want Me (162 points) [37-37-34-30-30-30-30-25-19-19-19-23-38]#82 Nao - Wildflowers (164 points) [11-13-11-13-15-19]#81 Dexndre - 100 wings (166 points) [02-04-10-14-20-30]A few of this section peaked in week 1, in most cases at the start of February when I basically refreshed my whole chart, so they may not have gone as high otherwise, still the DnB vibes from Eli Mich and arresting looped vocal hit the mark. Annie appeared in last year's EOY, and guests here with Eagles & Butterflies on a summery dance tune that went pretty much unnoticed. SASAMI was my entrant in Buzzjack's inaugural Pop Factor contest last year, and I sent her two songs here in rounds 3 and 4 respectively - both pre-album releases which I'd overlooked at the time even though I liked her releases the previous year ('Honeycrash' just missed my 2024 EOY as an #11 in June), but clicked into place with the Blood On The Silver Screen album which is wall-to-wall with great pop songs, while the verse from Clairo on the former may have helped give the songwriting the traction it deserves. Patrick Wolf has the lowest peaking song in this EOY which gallops through the verses with Celtic tinged instrumentation, until the stirring coda where its message to face your fears while you can is brought home.Ruthlss were another beneficiary of the February refreshed chart, but their dance instrumental had some staying power. The Weeknd dropped his purported final album under that moniker, from which this song, despite not charting officially, was undoubtedly one of the highlights (should there be a part two to the greatest hits of that name). Lady Gaga made four appearances on my chart this year from MAYHEM, all of which wind up in this EOY, and this was the slowest to climb but, Taylor-lore notwithstanding, it's the post-album hit that could have been in the real world. The breezy R&B courtesy of Nao that you can hear above was a discovery from the Radio 1 playlist. The ravey synths of rapper and producer Dexndre caught my ear in 2024, and I held this one back to send to the 2025 edition of Unknown Pleasures, hence the high entry on my chart.
February 7Feb 7 Author #80 -> #71#80 Sharon Van Etten - Idiot Box (168 points) [20-09-06-09-18-25-32]#79 Pearly Drops - Ratgirl (169 points) [27-29-25-18-18-18-18-21-26]#78 Amelie Lens - Young Forever (170 points) [09-07-06-06-18-30]#77 Lane 8 - Walk The Plank (174 points) [04-07-10-14-17-20]#76 Say She She - Shop Boy (175 points) [25-18-15-12-12-15-24-32]#75 Ladytron - I See Red (177 points) [26-14-11-12-16-18-23-31]#74 Clouds - Horizon (178 points) [12-11-15-14-13-20-24+]#73 Mirella - Timanttei (180 points) [08-03-08-14-18-24-32]#72 Schrotthagen - Schattenkinder (185 points) [24-15-14-11-14-13-20-32]#71 The Lathums - Heartbreaker (188 points) [02-02-06-10-14-24]'Afterlife' which made my 2024 EOY was the first song I'd heard by Sharon Van Etten - its parent album became one of my favourites of 2025, and this focus track on its release is the first of two from her to make the cut this time around. Having been on my radar for a while, Pearly Drops breaks through to an EOY with the shimmering dark vibes you can hear above. Amelie Lens whose 'Falling For You' (#218 in this EOY ranking) may have blocked my path to victory in BJSC 172 with GusGus ('Breaking Down' was #4 in my 2024 EOY), but followed that by hitting the beats harder and chucking out banger after banger - another will appear much higher up. More brooding EDM follows next as Lane 8 channel the rising waves befitting the title into a synth maelstrom. Say She She pitch up just outside the top 75, sounding like a throwback to early 80s hip-hop influenced rock, most notably Tom Tom Club.Ladytron charted at each position from #42 to #45 officially in the 2000s without ever cracking the Top 40, but the first I heard from them was 'Flight From Angkor' which appeared in only my 6th personal chart just over three years ago (how the time flies) - this was the first of theirs to make a lasting impression since. Clouds (they of 'Come With Me (On A Trip)', a BJSC entry last year for the now much-missed Kathaldazia) mash up trance and rave breakbeats, bigged up by the most London accent anywhere in this EOY. Speaking of BJSC, the second of my own entries to appear here is from Finnish singer Mirella in her native tongue, which in 2024 became her first #1 in her homeland at the age of 18 - sadly a smaller turnout for BJSC 176 meant that a 19th placing in the semi final wasn't enough for it to qualify. Schrotthagen just missed my 2024 EOY with 'Pain In My Heart' as a #12 in October after discovering it from Dan who later sent it to BJSC - this follow-up is every bit as compelling. An EDM-heavy section ends with whiplash again as Wigan indie band The Lathums followed up their two UK #1 albums last year, although most of the era's singles passed me by, with this jaunty rocker the main exception.
February 8Feb 8 Author #70 -> #61#70 Jerry Heil - Earth (Dradada) (189 points) [34-17-14-07-07-09-10+]#69 Max Dean, Locky, Luke Dean - Curveball (191 points) [22-18-XX4-12-08-10-15-22-30]#68 NTO - Cirrus [2/3] (192 points) [18-13-10-09-14-17-23-32]#67 The Hellp - Live Forever (193 points) [04-01-01-02-04+]#66 Oklou - what's good (194 points) [36-26-16-13-10-09-13-11+]#65 Ghost Cop - A Shot In The Dark (198 points) [21-11-08-08-13-18-22-29]#64 jasmine.4.t - Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation (199 points) [07-09-09-07-11-13-32]#63 John Summit feat. Inéz - crystallized (200 points) [12-07-06-09-11-14-28]#62 Purity Ring - imanocean (203 points) [16-12-10-07-10-14-26-30]#61 Ushko - COMET (208 points) [06-06-06-06-06-08+]A very BJSC-heavy section today - it was only after a few listens to the first one, part-Ukranian, part-English sung and rapped, that I realised Jerry Heil had represented Ukraine at Eurovision alongside Alyona Alyona with 'Teresa & Maria' (also a UK #100 hit!) and decided to send it to BJSC 180, however Cody's nation Cor Lupus beat me to the confirmation and ended up taking it to fourth place. If the names Max Dean, Locky and Luke Dean look familiar, that's probably because of their UK #13 hit 'Can't Decide' last year, but a month before that came out, I found this song towards the end of NMF and enjoyed the 90s throwback house production and uncredited female rapping, while the 'boing-boing' sounds that appear to have become one of Luke's trademarks are also present - the four-week withdrawal from my charts came when I sent it to Club Bizarre where it came 12th, with their aforementioned hit blowing up out of seemingly nowhere while voting was open. NTO appear in my EOY for a second year in a row with another intricately crafted trance instrumental. Back to BJSC 180 and my eventual replacement entry from The Hellp which is also the first chart topper to appear here with few weeks to build up points - comparisons to The Dare spring to mind with the vocals and the electroclash production which I thought was pretty epic - it finished 38th. French electronic producer and singer Oklou has a song contest backstory in 2025 too, but I'll spare the details here - this one of the deluxe additions to her album choke enough was a slow burner for me, and in comparison to the rest of the album it's a straightforward ballad, but the warm tones that coat the sadness are quite lovely.Ghost Cop just missed my 2024 EOY as 'Trouble' was my #11 for November, so their darkwave was always likely to appeal to me when this appeared in BJSC 178 courtesy of Danaeviia, and although I had it 4th in my vote behind songs I already knew, the bridge especially stuck with me more post-contest. A song title of the year candidate next from Manchester indie singer jasmine.4.t on this duet which threw me more questions than answers, the first one being who the male voice is. Producer John Summit enlisted the vocals of Inéz on this icy EDM banger which also turned up in BJSC 178, though it sadly fell by the wayside in the opposite semi to mine. I'd have only known 'fineshrine' by Purity Ring before 2025, but many of their new songs then made an impression, none more so than the gorgeous dreampop you can hear above. Finishing this section, my top score from the BJSC 179 went to Ushko whose vocally ascendant trancey cut was sent by Doctor Blind's nation Cumulonimbia, more from whom will appear again very soon!
February 10Feb 10 Author #60 -> #51#60 Litku Klemetti - Tour de France (209 points) [07-07-08-11-13-19-27-34-34]#59 Isabel LaRosa - Her Face (210 points) [30-21-12-08-04-01-01+]#58 Sofia and The Antoinettes - REVOLVER (211 points) [27-15-10-08-10-13-16-25-34]#57 Iris Caltwait - Alchemy (Living Is Not For The Heart) (215 points) [04-05-04-05-04-09+]#56 Artemas - eat me alive (217 points) [17-09-09-09-12-14-17-24]#55 Lana Del Rey - Henry, come on (219 points) [05-03-02-08-11-16-23]#54 Ethel Cain - Nettles (224 points) [25-25-21-17-10-07-13-20-28-25-36]#53 Ailith - Drought (226 points) [11-07-05-07-11-15-21-25]#52 Eelke Kleijn, Emily Roberts - Watching Over Me (227 points) [23-14-12-14-12-12-12-18-27-39]#51 The Weeknd - Cry For Me (232 points) [12-08-08-09-08-10-17-24]It is the very next song from Litku Klemetti that Cumulonimbia also sent to BJSC, sung in Finnish and buoyed by the brightest of synth melodies with some handclaps at the end - plenty of BJSC entries remain, but only two more were discoveries within the contest for me. Moving into a ballad-heavy section next, first is Isabel LaRosa with my last weekly #1 of 2025, and if I'd continued with regular weekly charts it may well be there still, so this position outside the top 50 doesn't do it justice, everything about it - the melody, vocals, flourishes of strings in the production, lyrical imagery, and way the sadness is repressed until the middle eight - is just beautiful. Sofia and The Antoinettes continue the theme - her voice alone epitomises unrequited love, accompanied by the prettiest guitar lines this side of a 90s album by Radiohead, or perhaps Jeff Buckley as mentioned in the lyrics. The Iris Caltwait ballad was a standout find towards the end of NMF one week, and was snapped up by Hendinia for BJSC 180 where it took my top score - again the melody caught my attention first, but the lyrics are a keeper too with so many lines I could mention. By way of a switch-up in tempo, Artemas (I sent one of his songs to Unknown Pleasures before his commercial success, as I may have mentioned once or twice) sounds as vital here as his big commercial hit.Back to the ballads, and from Lana Del Rey it's the first UK chart hit to appear in this countdown - whether the parent album sees the light of day (and she settles on a title) or not, the strings and country-tinged production backdrops the break-up story wonderfully. I can hardly do justice in one sentence to the story behind the next one as Ethel Cain appears in my EOY for a second year in a row, but across eight minutes, with her voice almost buried in the americana-leaning production she returned to after the sonic curveball of her Perverts album earlier in 2025, the heartbreaking contemplation of loss emerges, concluding with "to love me is to suffer me". The unenviable task of following that falls to Ailith but it isn't a ballad, as she nails down less than three minutes of rock/pop that would safely bomb at any song contest. Next, Eelke Kleijn sets Emily Roberts on a house/trance journey that works as a pop song. Finally, The Weeknd has the second and bigger commercial hit in this section, sharing the UK #8 peak I gave it in my weekly chart - he's no stranger to this sound or subject matter of course, but builds the atmosphere masterfully around the cold synth riffs.
February 10Feb 10 Really like seeing "Henry, Come On" and "Cry For Me" in your top 100 from your latest selection.
February 11Feb 11 Author #50 -> #41#50 Suki Waterhouse - On This Love (235 points) [17-13-12-10-11-14-15-20-26-37]#49 KOMPROMAT, Rebeka Warrior, Vitalic - LIFT ME UP (236 points) [05-05-05-05-08-10-20-34]#48 Zanias - Cataclysm (238 points) [22-06-04-05-07-12-15-24-36]#47 FKA twigs - Perfectly (241 points) [08-05-06-05-08-14-19-23-40]#46 Miley Cyrus - End Of The World (244 points) [05-03-04-08-09-14-17-24]#45 Spencer Ramsay - FREE (248 points) [13-06-04-04-06-12-14-21]#44 Remember Monday - What The Hell Just Happened? (250 points) [24-21-17-16-16-16-16-16-16-17-26]#43 Lady Gaga - Garden Of Eden (251 points) [08-08-06-10-11-12-13-20-30]#42 Florence + The Machine - One Of The Greats (254 points) [07-03-02-05-08-10-13-26]#41 Lady Gaga - Zombieboy (257 points) [21-18-11-08-09-10-11-15-20-30]Suki Waterhouse has put out songs in a variety of styles for her 2024 album Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, most of which I've enjoyed, but a couple from the deluxe suggested where her strongest lane is - first 'Dream Woman' which just missed this EOY at #104, then this follow-up in which she plays out her character in a similar scenario to the ones Lana has excelled at, with a sweeping waltz-like production to match. KOMPROMAT and their members Rebeka Warrior and Vitalic have all had past BJSC entries together and separately, and this hypnotic one follows them nicely. Zanias returned with what became the title track to her album, a mesmerising synth soundscape with the drums and her voice to the fore. FKA twigs released two albums in 2025, EUSEXUA and EUSEXUA Afterglow, and confusingly there was also a deluxe of the former, although it also replaced a track still to come with a duet version, so I'll just enjoy this upbeat new track from it as a standalone. Miley Cyrus adds to the commercial hit count, although a UK chart placing of #23 was so much less than the widescreen pop here deserved.Producer Spencer Ramsay was behind this banging EDM discovery from NMF that I'd had as a song contest potential for a while. Remember Monday were of course the UK's entrants to last year's Eurovision, and I honestly think it sounded like one of our best entries in a very long time with the exception of Sam Ryder, owing a lot to the free-flowing structure and showtune-like production with slightly distorted edges to the vocals and dramatic delivery - unfortunately I thought much of this was lost in their performance on the night and their 19th place finish wasn't a surprise. Another UK #23 hit next from Lady Gaga that incidentally shares its name (and UK chart peak!) with a Joe Valino song from 1957 - anyway, this was a fun return to the 80s pop aesthetics and harmonies of her debut. Florence + The Machine and whoever Florence is working with are consistently good, but are in epic territory here with the arresting 70s-styled rock that backdrops Florence's challenge to the male-dominated perceptions of the best in music. Lady Gaga returns to close this section, channelling the earlier 80s here with rapped sections and chopped guitars, but the commanding middle eight and dark bassy outro are highlights too.
February 14Feb 14 Author #40 -> #31#40 Willow Kayne - Zenosyne (258 points) [03-02-04-06-09-12-17-24-34]#39 Rachel Bobbitt - Remember? (262 points) [38-29-04-02-03-07-09-14-19-23+]#38 Clark - Blowtorch Thimble (267 points) [25-17-08-06-08-08-10-13-16-32]#37 Haute & Freddy - Shy Girl (289 points) [22-15-10-07-06-07-07-11-17-24-36]#36 Grace Davies - Super Love Me (292 points) [20-16-09-09-06-08-07-11-19-25-30-40]#35 Anna von Hausswolff, Ethel Cain - Aging Young Women (293 points) [15-05-01-01-02-03-05-03+]#34 YonKaGor - If I Were To Die (294 points) [04-04-04-04-07-09-14-19-23-28]#33 John Maus - Disappears (299 points) [38-32-20-11-05-03-04-07-11-17-20-28-38+]#32 LALA HAYDEN - beast (313 points) [21-14-12-11-09-09-11-15-11-22-25-28-32]#31 Divorce - Lord (321 points) [33-27-20-15-12-08-06-05-10-12-15-21-28]Over some big hip hop beats and bass, Willow Kayne provided my BJSC 173 entry which auto-qualified only to finish 35th - the word "zenosyne" refers to the sense that time keeps going faster, something I certainly relate to. Rachel Bobbitt caught my attention with this electronic ballad whose theme of overcoming grief becomes stark in the final verse. Prolific electronic producer Clark counterpoints the most banging of beats with an ambient backdrop. Haute & Freddy nailed this synthpop bop that became my entry to PFSC: Best Of 2025 where it finished 10th in a strong field. In that field, my top score went to Grace Davies for this fabulous ABBA-esque pop song (chords from 'The Winner Takes It All', bassline from 'Does Your Mother Know', even half the 'Super Trouper' title used).The third of my weekly #1s appears, again thwarted by its late year release without which it would be considerably higher - Anna von Hausswolff is joined by Ethel Cain to take a verse each of this stately ballad, then sing together on the organ-driven powerful final verse and the chorus, the subject matter being one close to my heart that I could write much more about, but will save for a song with a similar lyrical theme later on. My second favourite BJSC in-contest discovery is the Trifoski entry for YonKaGor which sadly did not pass its semi despite my top score, as the charming melody and arrangement cuts through to the deeper gravitas of the message. John Maus was an artist I discovered from BJSC, and whose voice emerges from deep in the synthy mix on the song above, alluding to the theme of departure. The sparkling synthpop from LALA HAYDEN was my entry to an earlier PFSC, perhaps not the best fit to its theme, but the high voiced chorus stood out when I discovered it as the final track on NMF one week. Divorce bring the mixed vocal indie rock to close this section with a chorus that kept getting better on every listen.
February 22Feb 22 Author #30 -> #21#30 Dani Hagan - Doomed (327 points) [33-11-09-09-08-07-11-13-15-18-17-22-33]#29 Paul Webster, Bo Bruce - Holding The Light (331 points) [30-15-06-05-04-05-04-07-09-14-23-39]#28 The Marías - No One Noticed (333 points) [09-01-01-04-04-04-06-09-15-21-29-28-40-XX(11)-38]#27 Yndling - As Fast As I Can (341 points) [01-01-02-04-05-06-07-10-16-23-35]#26 Little Quirks - Honey (351 points) [36-26-13-13-13-09-07-08-07-09-11-15-24-32]#25 Cult Of Venus - Sinner (385 points) [22-07-06-04-06-07-07-06-07-13-14-19-30]#24 Absolutely - I Just Don't Know You Yet (401 points) [21-12-05-02-03-05-04-06-10-13-14-18-24-36]#23 Wolf Alice - The Sofa (406 points) [12-10-11-10-11-10-12-11-12-11-12-16-22-26-33-31]#22 Etta Marcus - Wolf River (407 points) [27-18-18-18-09-09-09-09-09-09-09-12-15-21-24-33]#21 Remy Bond - Moviestar (408 points) [29-26-16-08-04-04-03-06-11-14-16-16-15-21-26-33]The countdown continues with some melodic metal (think Evanescence) from Dani Hagan with a huge middle eight and operatic vocals towards the end. Bo Bruce was an alumnus of the first series of The Voice UK and a track from her subsequent Top 10 album was picked up by Paul Webster for a towering trance remix reminiscent of the genre's turn-of-the-millennium commercial peak. The Marías have the only song from my 2024 chart to have carried into 2025, after it just missed the top 100 (it was #101) in my 2024 EOY, then became something of a sleeper hit officially, reaching #50 in the UK, so it naturally became my favourite song of the time I restarted my weekly charts last February. The only of my five podium finishes in song contests I entered on Buzzjack last year to make this EOY (Just Mustard narrowly missed with 'POLLYANNA' at #105, the other three weren't eligible for my chart last year) is my runner-up entry to the PFSC Dream Pop edition from Yndling where her ethereal vocals float over swathes of shoegazey guitar that thrillingly surges midway through. The jangly indie pop song above from Australian quintet Little Quirks was a delightful late summer soundtrack.Cult Of Venus has another song further up, but as her follow-up has yet to follow it to BJSC, in the event I decide it should one day, I'll pin my hopes that its swirling bridge and chorus may stick in the head with more success. Absolutely had a standout find from NMF one week, and as I wasn't alone, I soon found out she is RAYE's sister - her vocals on this mid-tempo ballad are evidence of good genes. Wolf Alice had released what remains one of my favourite albums of the decade to date in Blue Weekend in 2021, so I was excited for their next era - first single 'Bloom Baby Bloom' was good, but for me they went back into epic territory with the next single, a sweeping arrangement assists the relatable lyrics as Ellie Rowsell's vocals build up to the big notes. Etta Marcus appears towards the top end of my EOY for a second year in a row, and it's hard to bypass the Lana comparisons here as this you could have convinced me this was a lost track from NFR! sessions, but beautifully written and held vocally all the way to the piano outro. Finally in this section it's another one that got away as a BJSC potential of mine, but I should have expected it to be snapped up and duly ended up awarding it my top score, as Remy Bond gives us another joyful ABBA pastiche - echoes of 'The Winner Takes It All' again in the melody, piano glissando from 'Dancing Queen', and quirky faux-translated lyrics.
February 25Feb 25 Author #20 -> #11#20 Yakima Jera - Dertlı Dolap (413 points) [03-02-03-02-03-05-07-09-08-12-15-22-29+]#19 Danny L Harle, Caroline Polachek - Azimuth (415 points) [10-05-03-02-01-01-02-03-05-10-15-20+]#18 Onlynumbers, Lucie Hart - Euphoric Night (431 points) [28-24-20-18-13-04-05-06-04-05-08-11-14-17-20-28]#17 Blondshell - Event Of A Fire (441 points) [29-05-04-02-02-02-04-05-06-08-10-12-19-27-39]#16 Lady Gaga - Abracadabra (448 points) [06-01-01-01-01-02-04-05-06-10-14-15-25-35]#15 FKA twigs - Striptease (451 points) [09-08-07-06-05-04-05-06-07-12-13-15-18-24-31-35]#14 Sharon Van Etten - Trouble (461 points) [03-03-02-02-02-03-04-07-08-11-14-18-20-29-32-37]#13 Avalon Emerson - Treat Mode (468 points) [23-11-07-06-04-03-03-03-04-05-06-09-15-22-29-38]#12 MØ - Keep Møving (486 points) [25-02-02-01-01-01-03-02-05-07-08-10-21-24-27-31]#11 [IVY], A Little Sound - Can't Love Me (490 points) [17-07-05-03-03-03-03-03-05-07-11-13-15-19-23-31-39]Both of my most successful BJSC entries to have been released in 2025 appear in this section - firstly from Germany-based duo Yakima Jera who build the atmosphere with clinical darkwave beats and sensual warm-up vocals before switching to the Turkish language as the song takes flight. Danny L Harle has impressed as a producer for others, and with the soaring vocals of Caroline Polachek in mind this song was composed, the cold minimalism suiting its autumnal release, though there are lovely electronic flourishes too around the hardest beats. Some even harder beats follow from Onlynumbers to push the euphoria of the title, with the intensity punctuated by the chilled verses of Lucie Hart. For the second year in a row, Blondshell makes my EOY, this time with a ballad - there have been quite a few this year, but befitting the metaphorical premise of the title, there was something resonant here about feeling trapped and fearing the worst. The huge anthem from Lady Gaga calls back to the days of 'Bad Romance', packing the adrenaline rushes of the bridges and an operatic middle eight section - it produced a rare moment of my personal chart #1 being a huge commercial hit, although I still await one to top the UK charts, with this hitting a ceiling at #3 and my 2024 #1 'APT.' unable to go any higher than #2 - however there is still another commercial hit to come in this EOY.FKA twigs made #37 in my 2024 EOY with 'Eusexua' on the basis of its #4 placing for that September on the back of a handful of plays, however that didn't do justice to how it grew, but on release of her album of that name, she took flight in my resumed weekly chart with this standout track where she effortlessly floats through layers of sound. The next ballad from Sharon Van Etten seeped its way into a long run in my top 10 at the same time with a hypnotically circling melody. Another electronic masterpiece follows from Avalon Emerson as it takes in Kraftwerk-esque synths and buried vocal samples (I'm sure the "No!" is from 'Alphabet Street' by Prince) over a six minute journey. My most recent BJSC top 10 hit finished 5th in its contest courtesy of MØ and while I had admired some of her earlier songs (2021's 'Live To Survive' was a fleeting fave at the time), she hadn't really been on my radar, but it didn't take long for the lyrics and the deadpan urgency of her delivery to reach me over the infectious synthpop. Just outside the top 10, [IVY] and A Little Sound collaborated for a thrilling charge around EDM subgenres, taking in elements of techno, DnB and trance, maybe even a little psytrance towards the end.
February 27Feb 27 Author #10 -> #6#10 Ravyn Lenae - Love Me Not (498 points) [22-19-12-07-07-06-05-04-05-06-06-08-09-13-23-26-29-33]#9 Danny L Harle, PinkPantheress - Starlight (512 points) [16-05-04-04-02-01-02-04-04-05-06-10-14-17-20-30]#8 Fazerdaze - Motorway (534 points) [35-29-19-13-08-05-05-03-04-06-08-10-11-09-07-05-13-20-35]#7 Cult Of Venus - Algorithm (535 points) [01-01-01-01-01-02-03-04-08-07-10-11-14-18-24-25-31]#6 Skullcrusher - March (552 points) [02-01-02-02-02-02-02-05-06-07-06-09-10-15-21-24-30-40]For the third year in a row, at least one commercial hit makes my EOY top 10, and in each case the biggest of those peaked at #2 - the belated breakthrough for Ravyn Lenae has such an elastic ebb and flow through that it's almost one long chorus, with the title section back up by handclaps (the most underrated instrument in pop). The highest appearance of Danny L Harle is fronted by PinkPantheress who seems to have hit her stride about now and plays to all the drama in the production here, and what a production it is, gradually shifting everything skywards, before sending in big beats, chopped up vocals and floor-drilling bass. My two highest BJSC entries in this countdown appear in the next two spots, albeit finishing a somewhat disappointing 34th and 32nd in their respective contests - Fazerdaze appeared in my 2024 EOY, but drove up the intensity from the start here with a grizzly bassline evoking the rush of traffic while the synths light up the chorus like the night sky, then the tension ratchets up with every verse until the middle eight arrives to literally "throw it out the car door" until there's nothing left. On first listen the next one, I knew I had to send it to BJSC - Cult Of Venus launches an army of synths and crashing drums as if the protagonist in a video game, but her voice echoes the thematic trapped feeling of being online with every action scrutinised, while some fantastic melodies culminate in the middle eight. The song above from Skullcrusher was one I had to play again twice immediately after I heard it for the first time, as I was stunned by the piano and her voice, and even at the time I hadn't expected it to be a lasting hit as the song and her lyrics are so stark, but I found myself drawn to the slowly building atmosphere in the production which makes it simultaneously unsettling and comforting, before the final minute where the piano gently leads the song out. The top 5 will follow tomorrow.
March 1Mar 1 Author #5 -> #3#5 Blanck Mass - You (555 points) [04-03-03-03-02-03-02-03-03-03-04-08-10-14-18-28-31]#4 Debbii Dawson - You Killed The Music (587 points) [16-07-01-01-01-01-01-02-02-03-06-07-08-09-10-17-26-33]#3 LSR/CITY, Gareth Emery, Annabel - out of the sky (617 points) [03-01-01-01-01-01-01-01-01-03-05-06-08-10-13-18-27-27-34]The highest discovery from BJSC in this EOY goes to Blanck Mass - essentially a six-minute instrumental interspersed with twinkling harp sounds and buried vocal effects, but centred around a sparkling synth riff where the production gradually swells each time it comes around, before an apex at 5 minutes in with, apropos of nothing, 15 seconds of screaming, then as you were - it took my maximum points for Skall with whom it missed out on a win in BJSC 171 only by a tiebreak. An actual BJSC winner follows from Debbii Dawson on her third appearance in the contest, however as with her first appearance 'Happy World' which made #40 in my EOY for 2024, this was a song I knew and loved before its BJSC appearance, and indeed its 5 weeks at #1 in my chart predated its announcement as the Bøtanikkä entry - yet it was an easy 18 pointer as a sparkling 70s/80s influenced pop song in its dramatic and melodic glory. As an ongoing collaboration between Gareth Emery and Annabel, LSR/CITY had made four previous appearances in my top 15 without cracking the top 10, but this one was immediate - the build, the chorus with a message that always applies, and especially when Annabel hits the big notes in the final minute, are so uplifting that each time it finished I wanted to hear it again - it became my longest running #1 at 8 weeks, beating four songs tied on 5 weeks from 2023, and even if my 2024 charts had been weekly, I estimated that the longest runners would have been my 2024 EOY top 2 of Echoberyl - Weird Boy with 6 weeks, and Vampire Weekend - Capricorn with maybe 7 weeks in two separate runs.#2#2 Amelie Lens - Serenity (685 points) [13-05-03-03-02-03-02-02-02-03-02-02-03-04-06-10-11-15-18-26]For several months, it looked like my EOY #1 was going to be a song which didn't actually reach #1 in any week, held to #2 first by Cult Of Venus and then LSR/CITY, and there would have been more irony in Amelie Lens taking it for 2025 since my previous EOY #1 based on weekly charts in 2023 was for Rose Gray, and Amelie was also responsible for the song which held my BJSC 172 entry to second place as her winner featured uncredited vocals by none other than... Rose Gray. No matter though, this is an irresistible dark banger powered by an infectious 20-note riff, a haunting vocal, and the ominous four-note middle eight that follows "and nothing outside of here matters".#1#1 Wolf Alice - Play It Out (699 points) [08-01-01-01-01-01-01-01-01-01-02-03-05-02-03-02-03-02+]However despite being a non-single on an album released in late August, the song which went on to clinch the EOY #1 in the final week of 2025 belongs to Wolf Alice - while I would go along with the consensus that said parent album The Clearing was something of a comedown following their previous one, this track is one I am sure to keep close. The music is beautifully arranged around a homely piano, joined later on by bell sounds which evoke an almost Christmassy feel that maybe helped keep it high in my charts as the year drew to a close, accompanied by choral effects which recall some of the best of Pink Floyd, as befits the 70s retrospective feel to the project as a whole, and finishing with a muffled seaside organ. However at my current stage of life, it's the lyrics that hit me the most - and for the same reason as the Anna von Hausswolff song earlier in the countdown, as Ellie Rowsell sets out the value of living the life that is right for her and not what society expects. It's a powerful message from a female perspective, but as one of a couple who have lived through many of the same doubts and reaffirmations, there's a real sense of validation from "I wanna age with excitement, feel my world expand", while "just watch me build castles in the hourglass sand" is a wonderful metaphor, and releasing the burden of expectation feels as if it's further symbolised by the vocals just before the final chorus which gently lift like a balloon into the night sky. The song broke the recent LSR/CITY record with a 9th week at #1 on my weekly chart, and I couldn't imagine a more fitting #1 for the year as a whole.
March 1Mar 1 Author So here's my completed top 100:01 | 699 | Wolf Alice - Play It Out02 | 685 | Amelie Lens - Serenity03 | 617 | LSR/CITY, Gareth Emery, Annabel - out of the sky04 | 587 | Debbii Dawson - You Killed The Music05 | 555 | Blanck Mass - You06 | 552 | Skullcrusher - March07 | 535 | Cult Of Venus - Algorithm08 | 534 | Fazerdaze - Motorway09 | 512 | Danny L Harle, PinkPantheress - Starlight10 | 498 | Ravyn Lenae - Love Me Not11 | 490 | IVY, A Little Sound - Can't Love Me12 | 486 | MØ - Keep Møving13 | 468 | Avalon Emerson - Treat Mode14 | 461 | Sharon Van Etten - Trouble15 | 451 | FKA twigs - Striptease16 | 448 | Lady Gaga - Abracadabra17 | 441 | Blondshell - Event Of A Fire18 | 431 | Onlynumbers, Lucie Hart - Euphoric Night19 | 415 | Danny L Harle, Caroline Polachek - Azimuth20 | 413 | Yakima Jera - Dertlı Dolap21 | 408 | Remy Bond - Moviestar22 | 407 | Etta Marcus - Wolf River23 | 406 | Wolf Alice - The Sofa24 | 401 | Absolutely - I Just Don't Know You Yet25 | 385 | Cult Of Venus - Sinner26 | 351 | Little Quirks - Honey27 | 341 | Yndling - As Fast As I Can28 | 333 | The Marías - No One Noticed29 | 331 | Paul Webster, Bo Bruce - Holding The Light30 | 327 | Dani Hagan - Doomed31 | 321 | Divorce - Lord32 | 313 | LALA HAYDEN - beast33 | 299 | John Maus - Disappears34 | 294 | YonKaGor - If I Were To Die35 | 293 | Anna von Hausswolff, Ethel Cain - Aging Young Women36 | 292 | Grace Davies - Super Love Me37 | 289 | Haute & Freddy - Shy Girl38 | 267 | Clark - Blowtorch Thimble39 | 262 | Rachel Bobbitt - Remember?40 | 258 | Willow Kayne - Zenosyne41 | 257 | Lady Gaga - Zombieboy42 | 254 | Florence + The Machine - One Of The Greats43 | 251 | Lady Gaga - Garden Of Eden44 | 250 | Remember Monday - What The Hell Just Happened?45 | 248 | Spencer Ramsay - FREE46 | 244 | Miley Cyrus - End Of The World47 | 241 | FKA twigs - Perfectly48 | 238 | Zanias - Cataclysm49 | 236 | KOMPROMAT, Rebeka Warrior, Vitalic - LIFT ME UP50 | 235 | Suki Waterhouse - On This Love51 | 232 | The Weeknd - Cry For Me52 | 227 | Eelke Kleijn, Emily Roberts - Watching Over Me53 | 226 | Ailith - Drought54 | 224 | Ethel Cain - Nettles55 | 219 | Lana Del Rey - Henry, come on56 | 217 | Artemas - eat me alive57 | 215 | Iris Caltwait - Alchemy (Living Is Not For The Heart)58 | 211 | Sofia and The Antoinettes - REVOLVER59 | 210 | Isabel LaRosa - Her Face60 | 209 | Litku Klemetti - Tour de France61 | 208 | Ushko - COMET62 | 203 | Purity Ring - imanocean63 | 200 | John Summit feat. Inéz - crystallized64 | 199 | jasmine.4.t - Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation65 | 198 | Ghost Cop - A Shot In The Dark66 | 194 | Oklou - what's good67 | 193 | The Hellp - Live Forever68 | 192 | NTO - Cirrus [2/3]69 | 191 | Max Dean, Locky, Luke Dean - Curveball70 | 189 | Jerry Heil - Earth (Dradada)71 | 188 | The Lathums - Heartbreaker72 | 185 | Schrotthagen - Schattenkinder73 | 180 | Mirella - Timanttei74 | 178 | Clouds - Horizon75 | 177 | Ladytron - I See Red76 | 175 | Say She She - Shop Boy77 | 174 | Lane 8 - Walk The Plank78 | 170 | Amelie Lens - Young Forever79 | 169 | Pearly Drops - Ratgirl80 | 168 | Sharon Van Etten - Idiot Box81 | 166 | Dexndre - 100 wings82 | 164 | Nao - Wildflowers83 | 162 | Lady Gaga - How Bad Do U Want Me84 | 161 | The Weeknd - Open Hearts85 | 160 | Ruthlss - Ascension86 | 160 | Patrick Wolf - Dies Irae87 | 159 | SASAMI - Just Be Friends88 | 158 | SASAMI, Clairo - In Love With A Memory89 | 156 | Eagles & Butterflies, Annie - Next 2 U90 | 153 | Eli Mich - I Told You91 | 153 | Kathleen Edwards - Save Your Soul92 | 152 | Cruel Sister - IRON PILLS93 | 152 | Jasper Tygner - First Light94 | 151 | KÄSSY - i-i-i95 | 149 | Joji - Past Won't Leave My Bed96 | 146 | VACUUM MAN - Alimut97 | 146 | Humanoids - Mindroid98 | 144 | Joone, Kat Koan - Burned In Time99 | 143 | DJ_Dave - Hard Refresh100 | 140 | Jax Jones, Ado - Stay Goldand the playlist in countdown order, #100 to #1:Thank you for reading this far - thanks Sergej for a few comments, and anyone who has followed along. Although I haven't got as far as commenting on any other 2025 EOYs as I have in previous years, I have read through every one which has been posted on this page, and if there's a playlist included I've listened to that too - maybe around Easter time I'll be able to share some of my reflections on those, but I always enjoy reading them and discovering or revisiting songs in this way, so thank you for yours too.
Create an account or sign in to comment