tl;dr: Spotify Playlist
It was a great year for music. The pent-up energy from all the album delays and logistical issues since the beginning of the pandemic finally got released and almost all my favourite musicians rushed to put out new albums. So many songs that I had only heard snippets of from youtube videos finally got an official release. Bands were touring again and concerts once again became a place where I put most of my disposable income. Things finally felt normal again and I’d never been so grateful for music and the people that make it.
Reading over the list of my top songs from this year sort of feels like looking at a list of my all-time favourite artists. While in the past so many of the artists that I’ve loved for years failed to deliver when making new music, this year most of them did. In this list, you’ll see familiar names if you have been reading my lists over the years. After so much disappointment over the last few years, it feels so great to finally have one where the songs that were released lived up to the promise of what they could be.
Top 100 Songs of 2022
20. Mango Sticky Rice – Milli
The Thai rapper created one of the most viral moments of Coachella when she debuted this infectious single while eating the dish that this song is named after.
19. 牽著我的手 Hold My Hand ft. 壞特?te – 蔡明仁MINGREN
A beautiful duet that plays out like poetry between lovers.
18. Talk – beabadoobee
The Filipino-British songwriter is a master of making guitar tracks that are equal parts poppy and bittersweet. Talk is a great example of this.
17. Mystery – Raveena
Described as a “happy comfort” song, Mystery sounds like the musical equivalent of a long romantic bath.
16. Tonight (feat. Ezra Koenig) – Phoenix
A genuine throwback to my uni days, Tonight showcases the best of two of the most popular indie bands of the late 2000s.
15. Capelton Hill – Stars
Stars has always been one of the favourite bands and Capelton Hill is the best song they’ve made in years. Cinematic and nostalgic, this is Stars return to form.
14. confidence – Gareth.T
The Hong Kong songwriter has been growing in popularity and confidence is a great showcase of his talents. Like so many of his best songs, he builds tension before resolving it with the one topic he always comes back to – love.
13. ddu ddu ddu – Moon Byul
No this is not a Blackpink cover. On ddu ddu ddu, the Mamamoo rapper encapsulates the longing after heartbreak and shows that she does ballads as well as high-energy tracks.
12. This Hell – Rina Sawayama
What a year for Rina. She released a new album to much fanfare and channels her inner Shania with This Hell. Only in Rina’s hands can she turn a song about hate toward the LGBTQ+ community into an empowering pop jam.
11. IT’S YOU (feat. keshi) – MAX
IT’S YOU shows that keshi can create his signature sound even when he’s working with other musicians. As a producer, he works with MAX to create one of the most feel-good love songs of the year.
10. Would You Mind – HYBS
HYBS makes such fun pop songs and their star keeps on burning brighter. I was lucky enough to see them play in a mall food court during my travels in Bangkok and this will probably be the last time I’ll get to see them play somewhere so small. Would You Mind has such great meet-cute quality to it and it’s hard to not have a smile on your face when you listen to it.
9. Hubba Bubba – Yayyoung
This Korean-American singer has been making amazing bedroom R&B tracks for years and Hubba Bubba has her showing off her amazing voice as she delicately sings for a lost love.
8. Vitamins – ELIO
The Wales-born, Canada-bred singer-songwriter has been making some of the most interesting pop music for the last few years and her albums have gotten a lot of play at my flat this year. Her music sounds like it’s been influenced by Grimes, Taylor Swift, and Billie Eilish while also at times sounding completely original. Vitamins is an infectious track that jumps and glitches all the way through and will stay stuck in your head for days.
7. SMILEY (Feat. BIBI) – Yena
This song came to me during the dark days of winter at the beginning of the year and it immediately grabbed my attention with its simplicity and a killer feature by BIBI. In a way that only KPOP can, SMILEY is cute, catchy, and endlessly repeatable as a song. When I needed a boost this year, this was it.
6. Pretend – Eloise
Jazzy and bittersweet, Eloise has always been the queen of making these types of romantic and heartbreaking songs. Pretend showcases her self-awareness at the end of a relationship and pushes the idea that the end doesn’t have to be all bad.
5. Vancouver – Big Naughty
Big Naughty has a name that I hate but he makes music that I love. He’s probably been my favourite discovery of the year. As one of the contestants in the 2019 edition of Korean rap survival program “Show Me the Money”, he’s really grown into his own sound since then. With his slick flow over beats that is at times poppy and at time jazzy, Big Naughty makes hip hop accessible. On Vancouver, he shows his youth and naivety as he longs for an ex who has moved to Canada on a study abroad program, telling her of all the lengths he’ll go through to see her again. This song really has very little to do with the city it’s named after, but I do find myself longing for my former home when I listen to it.
4. Kiss Me – Karencici
At the tale end of last year, Karencici debuted in Jackson Wang’s newest rap group, Panthepack, and this really put her in the spotlight this year. She released several new tracks throughout this year while appearing in variety shows and concerts across many different parts of the world. On Kiss Me, she dials back the rambunctious rap persona and dials up the defenseless lovesick singer. Similar to Doja Cat’s hit single Kiss Me More from last year, this is a beautiful ode to the most innocent of affections as a way of displaying love.
3. So Nice – Carly Rae Jepsen
There should be no surprise that CRJ made it this high on my list. Probably the best pop songstress making music today, her 80s-inspired sound hits way more often than it misses. So Nice is her attempt at making a love song that foregoes all the bittersweet ideas and is just sweet. And she delivers. So Nice is special in actually being just a straightforward love song about how amazing her partner is. While this would sound corny and terrible in less capable hands, this song is good because of its sincerity.
2. Happiness – The 1975
The first time I heard Happiness, I absolutely hated it. Same with the second time. And third. It sounded like unorganized noise. What happened to the big hooks and infectious melodies that the 1975 were known for? But something happened on the fourth listen. The looseness of the structure started to make more sense. Small phrases like “show me your love why don’t you” started to get stuck in my head. I started to want to move and jive when I heard it. Before long I was listening to it wherever I went and I couldn’t stop.
Happiness is what happens when a bunch of friends gets in a room and makes music that’s fun and exciting. No need to over-plan – just let the vibes take over. The looseness of the song lets the listener feel like they’re right there with them, creating something great that just feels right. It’s a beautiful mess.
1. Touch – Keshi
When I found out that Keshi and the 1975 were both releasing albums this year, I knew almost immediately that they would occupy the first two spots on this list. The question was just in what order? No other musicians have occupied more Spotify listens than these two over the last four years and somehow both seem to be getting better with time. Keshi wins out this time.
The first time I heard Touch was during the live stream of Keshi’s performance at Head in the Clouds 2021. I immediately fell in love with it. There was a month where I would watch the video of the live stream on repeat just to hear this song. I’d learn the lyrics purely from that video. If the song was officially released last year, it would have been the best song of last year.
Touch is the best version of Keshi. Bittersweet lyrics across lofi productions and singer-songwriter structures. A pitched-down vocal sample in the chorus makes it sound like a duet with his subconscious. The tension builds throughout as the protagonist grapples with memories from the past while trying to confront what to do moving forward. The desperate longing is agonizing. What makes this song special is that it captures those dark moments when the human mind is at a breaking point. Seneca once said “we suffer more in imagination than reality” and this song captures that phrase to its very essence.
