We’re so close to revealing our number 1 song of the year. It’s been a challenge rounding up almost 500 songs from both unsigned and emerging acts around the world. Maybe one day when we have a larger team, we’ll sit down and rank all 500 songs! Maybe, maybe not, who knows eh?
Before we present the number 1 song, here’s the 10 to 2 list — once again an eclectic selection of music. Hope you manage to discover an artist you like during this read.
10: BRIDGE — With You
BRIDGE is one of the most gifted singer-songwriters on this planet, however he’s been overlooked throughout his career. He blessed us again with good music this year, especially with his release “With You” — this time around it wasn’t his typical alternative R&B-infused music we are familiar with. On “With You”, he combines R&B and UK Garage effortlessly to create a mesmerising song with a lot of replay value.
9: Harper — Running Underwater
London based singer-songwriter Harper is an artist we’ve been following for a long time. After a few years of hard work and consistently releasing great music, she finally signed a deal with First Access Entertainment in November thanks to the success of singles such as “Body On Me”, “No Love In The Jungle” and the absolutely catchy “Running Underwater”. Replay value and a universal appeal.
8: Octavian x Sam Wise — 100 Degrees
French-born London artist Octavian has also had a successful year, but it was the collaboration with House of Pharaoh’s Sam Wise back in January that stood out the most for us. Smooth melodic flow and a memorable hook over a menacing sombre production.
7: Jordan Hollywood — Cash Out
After being quiet for a minute, Florida based singer/rapper Jordan Hollywood made one of the lowkey best comebacks earlier this year with the certified banger “Cash Out”. He also announced his signing to the Atlanta-based record label Quality Control (Migos, Lil Baby etc). Before you make any assumptions; he’s been making this style of music way before the whole world finally noticed Post Malone.
6: DUVV — Fall For It
The independent New York City / Seoul based Trinidadian-American artist DUVV released the outstanding EP ACID in November and it featured the mighty “Fall For It”. The song like the EP itself, combines genres such as R&B, Pop and Electronic music to perfection. Highly recommended if you’re open to new sounds.
5: Elley Duhé — FEVER
Ever since Elley Duhé released her first single “immortal”, we knew she was going to be a star. She’s another artist whose had a very successful year, releasing her debut EP DRAGON MENTALITY back in October, collaborating with producers such as Zedd and Gryffin, and so much more. Her breathtaking vocals are alluring throughout “FEVER” built over an epic pop production with Indian vibes.
4: SAINt JHN — Selfish
SAINt JHN sounds superb on the emotionally-driven but-kind-of uptempo gem “Selfish” — the standout track on his debut album Collection One. This is the type of song that will make you miss your ex without making you cry, if that makes sense? A lot of replay value here.
3: Black Atlass — If They Only knew
Montréal, Canada born artist Alex Fleming makes music under the name Black Atlass, is signed to The Weeknd’s XO Records. The ethereal “If They Only Knew” is quite possibly the most captivating song we’ve heard this year. This is literally a blessing to our ears, it’s beautiful and very emotional. Get those tissues ready. This is Black Atlass and he’s going to be here for a very long time.
2: Tsar B — Syzygy
There was only two songs we felt just about topped the exceptionally alluring track by Black Atlass. First, it’s Belgian singer-songwriter, producer and violinist Tsar B. We stumbled across her music two years ago when we heard the breathtaking “Escalate”. Since then we patiently waited for a full Tsar B project, and in October she finally released her debut album The Games I Played and it features quite possibly the most impressive song we’ve heard all year.
“Syzygy” is a hypnotic number built over a spectacular genre-bending production that develops into a triumphant-like track with Tsar B’s compelling vocals staying consistent throughout. A truly outstanding song by an artist you should be listening to.
Feature Image: Tsar B
Photography: Anouk Van Kalmthout