June 24!

Edited June 24Jun 24 by bluemonday

....So here's my review of the first half of 2026.

So far, for me, it has been a year rather short on standout moments. More or less disappointments have been the albums by Bruno Mars, RAYE, and Harry Styles. The latter at least earned the top spot on my YTD list thanks to his brilliant lead single.

A surprising rescue came from Ella Langley, who managed to place three songs in the Top 10 — with the highest-ranking one being an album track. SLAAATER is the second breakthrough newcomer of the year so far.

While this year's Eurovision crop was somewhat underwhelming overall, it still ended up producing two No. 1 hits.
As for broader trends, it's hard to identify any clear movement, while CLUB is alive and well.

Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the most anticipated albums are probably those by Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey, and perhaps Charli XCX as well—although the preview tracks have largely failed to make any impact so far on my charts.

TOP 30 TRACKS YTD 2026

01 Harry Styles - Aperture

02 Ella Langley - Bottom Of Your Boots

03 HAVEN. - I Run

04 Sal Da Vinci - Per sempre si

05 Robyn - Talk To Me

06 Ella Langley - Choosin' Texas

07 Ella Langley - Be Her

08 Lykke Li - Lucky Again

09 ANOTR feat. 54 Ultra - Talk to You

10 DARA - Bangaranga

11 Bruno Mars - I Just Might

12 Harry Styles - American Girl

13 Austra - Fallen Cloud 

14 Calvin Harris, Jazzy - Satisfy

15 Jessie Ware - I Could Get Used To This

16 Madonna - I Feel So Free (Peggy Gou Energy Mix)

17 Lola Young - From Down Here

18 Lili Allen - Dallas Major

19 Jungle - Carry On

20 RAYE, Hans ZImmer - Click Clack Symphony

21 Meghan Trainor - Get In Girl

22 Bebe Rexha & Faithless - New Religion

23 Jessie Ware - Don't You Know Who I Am?

24 Anne Hathaway - My Heart Is Lonely For You

25 Dave - Raindance

26 Madonna, Sabrina Carpenter - Bring your Love

27 Magdalena Bay - This is The World (I Made It For You)

28 JADE - Church

29 Rose Gray - Lotus

30 Milky - Just The Way You Are

10 FAVOURITE ALBUMS SO FAR

Jessie Ware - SUPERBLOOM

Ella Langley - Dandelion

Robyn - Sexistential

SLAYYYTER - WORST GIRL IN THE WORLD

Ed O'Brien - Blue morpho

Olivia Rodrigo - You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love

Raye - This Music May Contain Hope.

Dry Cleaning - Secret Love

Gorillaz - The Mountain

Bruno Mars - The Romantic