50. FKA Twigs — tears in the club (feat. the weeknd)
FKA twigs’ 2019 magnum opus MAGDALENE showed the artist at her most claustrophobic and tortured. Just over two years later, she dropped this absolute banger. Yes, it’s still a sad banger. Twigs is crying in the club in the wake of a breakup. She wants her body to feel like it belongs to her and her only, not the person she’s trying to get over. Still, I sense the freedom in this track. The music video is, as always, an absolute serve, featuring twigs’ legendary dancing (and also The Weeknd as a tiny figurine, for some reason). The Weeknd adds a trademark flourish, lamenting lost love and encouraging twigs to feel her emotions. After two years of the pandemic, tears in the club felt like letting go, being feral in a crowd again. — u/starla_
49. Black Country, New Road — The Place Where He Inserted The Blade
First of all, uh, what in the world is a seven minute song by a band whose popheads-relevance up to this point is getting 38th place in the indieheads exchange rate doing in this list? Well, when said band releases their most accessible and anthemic piece of music yet, it’s not a surprise that those who get uncomfortable whenever a song has more than four chords might take notice.
In the context of the song, the title is framed as someone asking his partner for help cooking — i.e., show me where to make this cut. A weird subject matter for a seven minute song but, hey, this is on the same album as “Basketball Shoes”. But is that really all this song is about? If being exposed to enough Swifties has taught me anything, it’s that there’s always a deeper meaning hiding in the lyrics.
For example, I’ve seen a lot of interpretations for what the narrator really means by “making lunch” in the prechorus — is it about sex, making love but never able to fully give yourself to a new partner because you are stuck thinking about a previous relationship? Is it about being an artist, making music for an audience that can never quite understand you (“show me the fifth, the cadence you want me to play!”)? This rings even more true with the news that Isaac Wood, the lead singer, would be leaving the band shortly before the release of the album. In my opinion, though, I think taking the song at its literal meaning has the most impact. The narrator sees that something as mundane as making lunch for someone — anyone — else causes him to think of doing the same for a former partner. And this simple memory causes a breakdown and a freakout and eventual comfort by his current partner, bringing him back together. This simple moment is accompanied by a grand instrumental, that even the simplest moments of our lives can carry such great significance.
Speaking of the music, this is one of the, if not the most, melodic and cohesive instrumentals BC, NR has ever written. The band has fully embraced a chamber pop sound that embodies the full sense of yearning the song tries to convey. It’s warm without being cheesy; sincere without being saccharine. While other songs on the album might have more complicated compositions, the relative accessibility of “Blade” works perfectly for the song. The song uses every moment of its seven minute runtime to its full advantage — a perfect intro, a perfect build, a perfect chorus, a perfect breaking point, a perfect outro. To wrap this up I’ll just name a few of my favorite moments and tell you to go listen to the song itself: the prechorus, Wood sounding absolutely exhausted on the line “and I know you’re tired / while I’m tired too”, and the sheer joy that you can feel in the final sing-along. — musical_pyn
“Black Country, New Road — The Place Where He Inserted The Blade”
48. Ava Max — Maybe You’re the Problem
Ava Max’s sophomore era has been, quite frankly, dire as fuck, with its singles flopping, the album getting delayed, the album immediately leaking afterwards, and then radio silence until everything was saved by a new manager, who found time between evading Taylor Swift’s sniper unit to actually book some promo for her. For one glorious day before everything dovetailed, however, this era felt like an actual force, a mushroom cloud in the distance whose tremors were fast approaching. That was the day its lead single was first released and the world was bequeathed Ava Max’s best song: “Maybe You’re the Problem”. Yes, it’s another reductive synth-laden amalgam of radio flotsam — think “As It Was” + Future Nostalgia — but it manages to become more than the sum of its parts by gaining an unstoppable sense of relentlessness. The title may feature a “maybe,” but there’s no hesitancy to be found, from the pointed lyricism to the intense dancepop production boosting everything forward. Ava is appropriately pissed, snarling every syllable in that chorus, as her cathartic itemization of her partner’s red flags comes pouring out of her. It’s all just so excellently crafted, with nary even a second to let a listener catch their breath, demonstrating how Ava has become one of pop music’s most reliable bop artisans. Knowing /u/raicicle, this writeup won’t be featured until well after the official release of Diamonds & Dancefloors. But I’m confident its songs will be nothing less than pussy-destroying excellence, with its lead single still among its most cataclysmic. — u/letsallpoo
45. TAEYEON — INVU
Taeyeon has a withstanding reputation of being one of South Korea’s most potent pop stars. She’s proven herself to be one of the South Korean music industry’s hardest workers and has proven her worth as the leader of the seminal Girls’ Generation. “INVU” plays to all of her greatest strengths, where her voice is a vessel of emotion at a level that her contemporaries nor herself had ever reached. Such sharp inflections exist in the chorus as if the pain of an uneven relationship forced the notes out of her. Envy is a word that carries a strong tone, yet feeling as such when one’s admiration for another isn’t evenly reciprocated is a sentiment that’s almost inevitable. Taeyeon carries every word with her voice as it adeptly rides these lush, modest synths. The vocals, the harmonies, the lyrics, the production — everything feels so meticulously curated. Frankly, there isn’t any other K-pop artist who can execute this song as well as she did. — Brian
42. IVE — LOVE DIVE
Since 2018, there has been one question that’s constantly lingering within the world of K-Pop: have we entered a new generation? In recent years, there’s been doubts and debates, but 2022 finally brings an answer to that question, and the answer is a resounding YES. This year, we witnessed the rise of several successful newcomer girl groups, one of them being IVE, Starship Entertainment’s new 6-member girl group.
After making their debut late last year, IVE proved to be a success right off the bat, with their debut single “Eleven” becoming an instant chart smash. A few months later, they would follow up with their comeback single “Love Dive”, which easily dispelled any doubts that the initial success they had with Eleven was a fluke.
Much like its predecessor, Love Dive emits an elegant, mature aura on its surface, but with a darker and more mysterious flair. Despite this, just like Eleven, its lyrics center around a pretty youthful theme: the willingness to fall in love. True to its title, Love Dive likens the experience of love to diving, and its underwater themes go beyond its lyrical imagery. From the submerged electropop production, the blurry but alluring vocal effects and the mystic background vocal harmonies, this song sounds like a siren luring you into its spell, in the best way possible. The overcommitment to details like these is one of the defining traits of K-Pop, and proves that this song is no exception.
Since then, the song has received several accolades, including the coveted Song of the Year at the MAMA Awards, which will firmly cement its position as a modern K-Pop classic in the years to come. — u/fadedblue09
40. The Weeknd — Sacrifice
In an effort to top the run of singles on his last album, The Weeknd opens Dawn FM with an incredible 5-track opening, with “Sacrifice” capping off the sequence immaculately. The song’s hypnotic pull is immediately apparent; the first few seconds introduce themselves with what has to be the filthiest guitar riff of 2022. It’s spiritually a three-quel to Abel’s prior Daft Punk collaborations, though the duo is nowhere in the song’s credits. Instead, the team behind “Blinding Lights”, Max Martin and Oscar Holter, joins Swedish House Mafia to craft a Homework-inspired beat that is irresistible and funky. Abel even strips his usual cutting lyricism back to let this production shine, though his soaring vocals (especially in the bridge) are also a highlight. “Sacrifice” is a track that deserved to be way bigger than it actually was, but knowing The Weeknd’s charting history, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this get its moment a few years down the line. — u/cremeebrulee
39. Sam Smith — Unholy (feat. Kim Petras)
Having teased the song regularly on tiktok for a month before it’s release, Unholy had a cult following before it was even released. The song has a heavy sense of intrigue and deceit, where the anthemic chorus begs for a sing-along. The grindr hookup anthem of “mmm, daddy, daddy, if you want it drop the addy” is probably a little too relatable to far too many members of r/popheads, which is probably cause to its addition to the top 100 list. If not, it eventually became the first #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 by an openly trans artist, as well as openly non-binary artist. Which regardless of song quality, is something we can all support. Honestly I will be the first to admit that it’s been overplayed to death at this point, but I still find myself bopping along everytime I hear it. Smith and Petras compliment each other perfectly on this debaucherous track, and are trailblazing the way for what may be many more. — u/NapsandNetflix
38. Hatchie — Quicksand
From the opening riff of the song you just know that you’re going to be in for quite a trip. The guitar is absolutely soaked in reverb and the little melody is an immediate earworm. It’s then onto the first verse and it’s very short ̶ at only four bars for the verse and another four for the pre-chorus, it doesn’t take long at all to get to the chorus. While some may proclaim this to be a further sign of the death of Pop music as we know it, Hatchie has every right to want to get to the hook so quickly, because what a hook it is. Yeah, the verses are pretty good and the pre-chorus does its job nicely, but this song is all about the chorus, the best hook of 2022 if I may call it that.
The production is absolutely stellar, the same fantastic reverbed guitar tone from the intro remains, now a bit quieter in the mix and aided by the occasional tremolo effect to make it as grand as possible. The drum beat picks up the pace from the verse and perfectly reflects the sense of urgency in her lyrics, which are pretty good too but nothing especially remarkable, and Hatchie’s voice sounds amazing throughout. What really sells it though is the melody. Hatchie found an absolutely incredible hook and she’s going to beat you over the head with it until you get tired of it. Luckily for me, that’s never. — u/Thedoctordances1940
37. Florence + The Machine — My Love
Florence Welch is no stranger to purgatory. She has openly shared her battles against depression, abuse, alcoholism, and eating disorders throughout her discography. ‘No Choir’ literally opens with “it’s hard to write about being happy.” But what happens when that personal hell is a force majeure? ‘My Love’ is about that struggle. This brings us to March 2020, two words that simply indicate a cosmic shift. Florence took a hiatus from music after release 2018’s ‘High as Hope,’ a scaled-back but sophisticated album that perhaps indicated she was done with music. She entered a bohemian poet phase, releasing a book of poetry akin to a medieval manuscript. But the pandemic lockdowns stealing the stage away from her made her realize she missed it and that it may never return. What began as acoustic poem writings through bouts of creative block turned into a bombastic return to form worthy of a ‘Dance Fever’ title. The music video is adorned with Art Deco cabaret embellishments and Florence herself looks like she just stepped off the set of a ‘Lungs’ photoshoot. It’s classic Alice in Wonderland fantasy tinged with witchy elements as the audience is possessed by this spell. Florence, praying away the decrepit winter, sings “My arms emptied, the skies emptied / The billboards emptied / My arms emptied, the skies emptied / The buildings emptied” to a room that had been raptured. Florence once said her two greatest loves are music and alcohol. She’s eight years sober, so when all is taken from you where do you put that love? — u/shhhneak
35. Caroline Polachek — Sunset
I definitely could have finished this sooner, so sorry about that, but here’s my write-up for “Sunset”! Let me know if it’s too long or could use some revising/editing. I can also fill in for any other write-ups if there are some that are still open or needed!
In my mind, “Sunset” will forever be tied to the first time I heard it: during a magical night at Oakland’s Fox Theater, where Caroline dazzled the crowd with an expectedly riveting performance. Four songs into the set, she announced she’d be playing a new one; coming right after the crystalline groove of “Bunny Is A Rider,” the last thing I expected to hear was the sun-kissed, flamenco-influenced guitar riff that opens “Sunset.” High off an edible, I let the blissful melodies wash over me. By the time the song’s wordless, haunting post-chorus refrain graced the theater, I was both somewhere far away and caught breathlessly, inexorably in the moment.
The next day, still in awe of the transcendent experience I’d had throughout the concert, I commented half-jokingly on Reddit that “Sunset” was the greatest song ever written. Maybe it doesn’t actually hold that lofty, meaningless title, but “Sunset” is many other things, among them a musical left turn for the alt-pop star; the third single from her long-awaited, highly anticipated sophomore-but-not-really solo album; a searing, bittersweet declaration of desire; and a stunning display of vocal virtuosity.
The song was co-produced by Caroline herself (listen to Arcadia and tell me she’s not an extraordinary producer in her own right) along with Sega Bodega, whom I knew mostly for his skittering, neon-streaked electronic compositions — a far cry from the song’s seemingly acoustic flourishes. It’s an unexpected sound from both artists, but there are familiar elements beneath the mellow strings and pattering handclaps: thudding bass, buoyant hums, and soaring vocal harmonies. Caroline’s lovely, lovestruck voice floats over this lush accompaniment, occasionally gliding into the wordless, sinuous melodic refrain (official lyrics, courtesy of the music video: “oOoOoOoooo”). The lyrics themselves enfold a lover in various metaphors — the titular sunset, magic medicine, a “warm horizon” — but retain a somber, anxious edge; Caroline is “wearing black to mourn the sudden loss of innocence,” dirt under her fingernails and feeling like an “uninvited guest” in her own body. Love and desire aren’t painless or placid emotions, and though they come with their own dangers, they also act as salves, assuaging life’s troubles. Surrender yourself to fiery passion, embrace the pangs and the pain, and let’s ride away, spiraling toward that warm horizon. — u/NarcissusGrim
34. Tove Lo — No One Dies From Love
Tove Lo is in a really good place right now. Like, so good. In 2022 she is married on her terms and loving it, she’s putting original songs on one of the hottest soundtracks in Hollywood (“How Long” on HBO’s Euphoria), and perhaps most importantly, she’s now on an independent label with as much artistic freedom as she has in many years, possibly ever. But how can a woman whose best music is a perfect blend of melodramatic, self-destructive and horny still do her thing when her life is so stable?
No One Dies From Love shows that Tove Lo is still able to connect with those parts of herself and make something just as melodramatic and beautiful as ever. Tove knows first hand that the end of a passionate relationship can feel like a death: something that you will never recover from, something where the last moments come in slow motion as you go back through it all trying to figure out what went wrong. You become petty. You hope that, if you’re feeling like you might never be the same, you inflicted as much pain on the person who hurt you as they did to you. Every memory becomes a raw nerve stained with blood, one you can’t stop touching.
The synths fit right into the tonal landscape Tove has established for herself over the last decade, a perfect example of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” in action. This means No One Dies From Love, which could have been a tear-jerking ballad or a torch song in another life, becomes an emotional Robyn-esque bop to dance you through the pain and heartbreak. But where Robyn makes music for holding your head high through the tears, Tove makes music for wallowing just a little longer in the pain. Even though she’s now safe and happy out on the other side, Tove is there for all the people still in those moments of pain, those self-destructive cycles, in the hopes that they’ll make it out eventually as well. — u/yoshifan823
31. Lizzo — 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)
Lizzo has spent her entire career singing about being confident and loving herself, but even the most confident people on Earth have their insecurities about little things in life, and in Lizzo’s case, she’s scared of falling in love. Many others with the same fears would see a therapist or work on self care, but Lizzo overcomes her fears the only way she knows how: making an absolute banger about it. 2 Be Loved is an absolute euphoria inducing ode to the pains of anxiety and that silly little thing called love. Boosted by Lizzo’s soulful voice, the Max Martin-produced track plays to Lizzo’s strengths perfectly, showcasing her stunning vocals and personality in spades. And when the key change hits at the end of the song, it feels like an explosion of fireworks going off, the feeling of pure elation of being love-struck. “I don’t know why, but I’m ready” she ends the track on, Lizzo has found herself in music, and its a glorious sight to behold. — TakeOnMeByA-ha
27. LE SSERAFIM — ANTIFRAGILE
With LE SSERAFIM’s debut they proclaimed they were fearless. With their comeback they proved it. The rookie K-pop outfit went from the chic minimalism of their first single ‘FEARLESS’ to the peppy reggaeton-inspired jaunt that is ‘ANTIFRAGILE’. While there are commonalities between the two — messages of growing in the face of adversity, sticky repetitive refrains — the latter puts forward a more playful, effervescent sound to great effect. This is exemplified in moments such as the pitch glides on “lion” by Eunchae and Sakura, and Kazuha’s sassy delivery of “lovey lovey lovey dovey dovey dovey”.
Among the track’s writers is Isabella Lovestory — an exciting Honduran-born reggaeton artist and keen lover of K-pop — whose contribution provides a direct link to the genre ‘ANTIFRAGILE’ takes inspiration from. Perhaps that is why this fusion goes over so well, with Latin flair neatly incorporated into K-pop’s signature structures. LE SSERAFIM’s stylistic venture proved to be a fruitful one, becoming a massive hit domestically and internationally, and cementing the group’s place in K-pop’s upper echelon. — u/kyrgyzzephyr
Intro & Honorable Mentions | 100–76 | 75–51 | 50–26 | 25–1 | Full List
