Lainey Wilson currently has two songs with "truck" in the title in the top 10 on country radio, which seems like it should automatically qualify her for some kind of special award at the CMAs. The other one, HARDY's "Wait In The Truck," is merely okay (a real accomplishment given some of the horrors in HARDY's catalog). But "Heart Like A Truck" is a great Jay Joyce production that manages to make its awkward simile feel rousing, although that "runs on dreams and gasoline" line sure is a strained mix metaphor (I always wondered if Pavement's "Heaven Is A Truck" was a parody of country music -- if it was, "Heart Like A Truck" would've functioned just as well as the title). The sheer force of the hook and Wilson's voice really elevate the song's premise, though, and of course I love that mellotron on the bridge. Here's the 2023 singles Spotify playlist I add songs to every month. 

When I named What I Didn't Tell You by Coco Jones my #1 EP of 2022 a couple months ago, I accurately predicted that "ICU" would probably hit the carts in 2023. I didn't realize that Coco Jones is playing Hilary Banks on "Bel-Air," though, it's cool to see her singing and acting careers both flourishing at the same time. DJ Camper has been making hits for over a decade now, definitely one of R&B's most underrated producers.

"Pressure" became a hit a year and a half ago, so it feels like it's taken forever for Ari Lennox to get another Age/Sex/Location single on the radio (I think it was a mistake to push a song featuring Summer Walker when there was already a Summer f/ Ari song on the charts). So I'm glad that "Waste My Time" has taken off, definitely one of my favorites on the album. 

When Phony Ppl first broke through on R&B radio with "Fkn Around" a couple years ago, it was just exciting to see an R&B band besides The Internet getting traction, I wish there were a lot more in the mainstream like back in the '80s. "Nowhere But Up" definitely has a bit of an '80s vibe that works for them, too. 

I'm glad that Demi Lovato is staying a hard rock lane after last year's Holy Fvck, and it was pretty inspired to pair her up with Mike Shinoda to write a song for the latest Scream movie. Shinoda has done solo stuff since Linkin Park ended but I could see him doing really well as a Travis Barker type who writes and produces for other bands or acts who want to go in a rock direction. 

Powfu's "Death Bed" is still, much to my chagrin, by far Beabadoobee's biggest commercial success. But 9 months after the release of Beatopia, "Perfect Pair" has crept up past "Care" to become Beabadoobee's biggest solo hit on alternative radio, and it's not a song that jumped out at me back when the album came out but it's a good one.