LOS ANGELES (AP)– Ten of the best tunes of the year, as identified by Associated Press Music Writer Maria Sherman, in no specific order. Dive in.
“On My Mama,” Victoria Monét
Buckle up for some favorable affirmations! The 10-time Grammy-nominated Victoria Monét, as soon as best called a hit-maker for Ariana Grande, Fifth Harmony and Chloe x Halle, is getting her flowers nowadays as a musician– and passing them right along to the moms listening. Her smash hit single “On My Mama” is a caring homage to her mother and her child, with Monét’s buttery voice and intense brass production bring throughout. It might extremely well be the very best R&B track of the year– with among the very best samples, using Chalie Boy’s 2009 banger “I Look Good.” It takes a genuine skill to obtain from such an identifiable noise. Monét does not simply handle to do that– she makes it her own.
“Monaco,” Bad Bunny
Bad Bunny’s 2023 album“Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana,” is an improvement of his previous noise, the compelling rap that preceded his mainstream superstardom. Possibly it’s a workout in returning to the essentials while unwinding the issues of popularity, the source product for the majority of the album’s lyrics. At any rate, the mix produces a more restrained, pointed listen: a real success on the excellent “Monaco,” a Latin trap tune with a requirement for speed that would not feel too far eliminated on his launching album, 2018’s “X 100PRE.” Benito’s smooth, mournful baritone brings the track, as does the rush noise of a Solution One automobile that bleeds into baroque production.
“Flowers,” Miley Cyrus
There’s a thin line in between bold and corny when it concerns uplifting pop records. Far frequently, an empowering tune with an ascendant chorus loses all stress and strikes the ear like a too-sweet dessert. On Miley Cyrus’ Grammy-nominated “Flowers,” her very first No. 1 hit in a years, the pop super star makes magic take place. It’s a summery, retro-pop single bursting with optimism substantiated of divorce. “No regret, no remorse/ I forgive every word you stated,” she sings– the musical equivalent of somebody stating, “I’m tired with this discussion”– before releasing into a self-help mantra. She discovers a psychological option and musical willpower in her chorus: “I can like me much better than you can.”
“Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2,” PinkPantheress and Ice Spice
It is the tune of the summertime — heck, the year– and it came out in January. The all-star team of Bronx rap artist Ice Spice and hyperpop-punk hero PinkPantheress made “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” an assessment of modern-day dating with an indisputable hook. It is so space-y regarding fly; an indifferent remix for the present minute. Plus, the pronunciation of “Liar” like “Leo” in the tune’s chorus is “It’s Gon na Be May”-level imaginationWhat’s not to enjoy?
“I Remember Everything,” Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves
Nation artist Zach Bryan understands a thing or 2 about composing the isolation of heartbreak into tune with cutting uniqueness. It is among the factors his 2022 significant label launching “American Heartbreak” was called among AP’s leading albums of in 2015. And it belongs to the reason that his 2023 single and very first No. 1 track, “I Remember Everything,” is among our favorites of this year. It’s confessional, abundant, balladic songwriting magnified by his full-hearted voice– those open, resonating notes– and the sweet taste of Musgraves’ tone.
“Crave,” Paramore
Long gone are the scorched orange pop-punk days of Paramore’s youth. The Tennessee rock band flirts with animated post-punk nowadaystry out unbalanced synth production that mirrors internal stress and anxieties and the external forces that enhance them. “Crave” is the latter reviewing the previous: a propulsive, matured band dancing around an irritable guitar riff. At its core, like in all fantastic Paramore tracks, is frontwoman Hayley Williams extending her huge singing variety, belting out aggravations and excising misdirected desires.
“Rush,” Troye Sivan
The opening track and lead single from Australian pop powerhouse Troye Sivan’s 3rd full-length album, “Something to Give Each Other,” is all falsetto, locker space chants, and utopic homoeroticism: “I feel the rush/ Addicted to your touch,” a group of guys balance on the ideal pop of his lead single, “Rush.” Blowing is set up just to drive home a sort of sweaty sexuality, all enjoyable and light atop home and EDM beats. Sivan used AP a sort of mantra for the tune in an interview previously this year: “Things are excellent. Life is enjoyable. Sex is terrific.”
“Dumbest Girl Alive,” 100 gecs
What preceded: the chicken or the egg, 100 gecs or the Internet category of hyperpop? It does not matter. The duo of Laura Les and Dylan Brady are not in the market for sense; rather, their musical art is sustained by pixelated mayhem. When it comes to “Dumbest Girl Alive,” an option cut from their sophomore LP “10,000 gecs,” the only thing that matters is the nu-metal bass lick and distorted vocals that provide muddled lines like “Put emojis on my serious/ I’m the dumbest lady alive.” It’s 2023’s finest tune that seems like getting drawn into a computer system simulation, enjoyable and dumb in equivalent step.
“OMG,” NewJeans
In 2023, woman groups controlled the K-pop discussion. At the fore is NewJeanswith their Y2K-nostalgic noise that pulls from the turn of the centuries’s R&B and popular song. “OMG” was the driver for their popularity, with its addicting trap rhythm, moved by U.K. garage-inspired production, classy cowbells (you check out that properly) and a sticky staccato synth that lays a strong structure, gave the next level by the quintet’s ebullient consistencies. Oh my, oh my god.
“Tantor,” Danny Brown
Danny Brown’s absurdist technique to modern rap has actually made him one to enjoy for several years, and “Tantor,” the teetering lead single from his long-awaited 6th studio album “Quaranta,” is evidence. The Alchemist-produced track is, in minutes, prog-rock avant-rap, a retro-futuristic hip-hop infiltrated, like, “Robocop.” If cyborgs aren’t your thing, avert– however then you ‘d be missing out on among the most welcomingly clangorous and lovely tracks of 2023.
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In a story released Dec. 4, 2023, about the leading tunes of the year, The Associated Press mistakenly reported lyrics from Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers.” The lyrics are “No regret, no remorse/ I forgive every word you stated,” not “No regret, no remorse/ I forget every word you stated.”