1. H.E.R. f/ YG - "Slide"
I will hand it to H.E.R. that every time she collaborates with someone I didn't expect her to, the song turns out to be good and not too far out of her comfort zone. I'm amused that YG kicks his verse off referencing probably the least popular single from Jeezy's early run, YG isn't even on Jeezy's label anymore. It's also funny that he kind of messes up the Fall Out Boy reference ("they after the boy like fall out"). Every time H.E.R. gets nominated for a mess of Grammys she's already started moving on with singles from the next project, it's a weird strategy but I guess it works for her. Here's my favorite 2020 singles playlist I'll be adding songs to throughout the year.

2. Ashley McBryde - "One Night Standards"
Ashley McBryde's 2018 debut Girl Going Nowhere was an excellent album and this song might be better than anything on it, just a perfectly composed lyric from start to finish, the kind of thing that makes me feel envious and inspired as a songwriter, so I'm pretty excited for her second album. 

3. 5 Seconds Of Summer - "Teeth"
A good example of how complicated and circuitous music copyright law is these days is that the members of New Order get writing credits on "Teeth" even though the part of Rihanna's "Shut Up And Drive" that it interpolates is not the part that sampled "Blue Monday." I like this song, though, 5 Seconds Of Summer has been hit and miss in its 'punky Maroon 5' era of being less a band than a vehicle for various pop producers, but "Teeth" at least has a cool bombastic chorus.

4. Summer Walker f/ Usher - "Come Thru"
For some reason I've never been that into "You Make Me Wanna," it's probably not in my 10 favorite Usher singles, so I rolled my eyes at "Come Thru" playing on that old '90s nostalgia for an easy hit. But man, Usher sounds great stealing the spotlight to this song and singing a catchy little countermelody to the tune that launched him into superstardom. 

5. Mahalia f/ Ella Mai - "What You Did" 
Another R&B track with a nostalgic sample, this time 1977 Rose Royce via 2002 Cam'ron, from my favorite sample-happy R&B producer Pop Wansel. The track is flipped in a novel enough way that it doesn't feel stale, and both of their voices just sound great on it. 

6. Carly Pearce & Lee Brice - "I Hope You're Happy Now" 
Luke Combs co-wrote this, though, might've sounded good with him on it instead, but Lee Brice is a good counterpoint to Pearce's voice. I was stunned the other day to learn that producer Michael Busbee died of brain cancer back in September, really loved his work (with Maren Morris, Pink, and others), Pearce's upcoming album is apparently the last album he produced. 

7. Lindsay Ell - "I Don't Love You" 
Canadian singer/guitarist Lindsay Ell is another underrated female country artist who I hope has a great 2020 -- she appeared on one of the biggest country songs of 2019, Brantley Gilbert's "What Happens In A Small Town," and she's badly overdue for a major solo hit on American radio. Ell once covered John Mayer's Continuum album and this very much has the feel of a Mayer ballad, in a good way. 

8. Yo Gotti f/ Megan Thee Stallion and Lil Uzi Vert - "Pose"
I feel like Yo Gotti is one of the rare mid-level rap stars who sounds comfortable and unforced on anything, there's such a wide range of guests and types of beats on his singles and it never quite feels like he's reaching or struggling to stay current. "Pose" has a big shiny thudding beat that doesn't sound like what I'd consider a Yo Gotti beat, but it works, and the song that originally just featured Uzi sounds even better with Megan added to it. 

9. Missy Elliott f/ Sum1 -"DripDemeanor"
Missy Elliott has released a lot of singles over the past 8 years on her cautious perennial comeback attempt, and most of them attempt to different degrees to summon that animated uptempo vibe of her best known songs like "Work It." But more relaxed and melodic midtempo material has always been a big element of classic Missy records and I've missed her R&B side in those songs. So I was happy that last year's Iconology EP featured a song like "DripDemeanor" and that it kind of vindicated my thoughts about R&B-leaning Missy by becoming her biggest urban radio hit in ages. I didn't realize until the other day that Timbaland produced this, credit to him

10. A Day To Remember - "Degenerates" 
I don't know anything about the metalcore band A Day To Remember, but I was surprised to hear this, their first single for Fueled By Ramen, on hard rock stations like 98 Rock because it's really right in that sneering punk pop Blink 182/Fall Out Boy sweet spot.

The Worst Single of the Month: The Weeknd - "Heartless"
I'm not a big fan of The Weeknd but I've respected the way he's become more of a pop star by broadening his sound and trying different sounds with Max Martin and Daft Punk. But as much as he seems to be doing some weird stylized visual aesthetic for his new album, it feels like his new singles are just total The Weeknd-by-numbers, him singing the same cliche drugged out emotionally numb schtick as ever but with even less subtlety than before.

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