Monthly Report: February 2025 Singles
1. Wizkid f/ Brent Faiyaz - "Piece of My Heart"
"Essence" made Tems a star in America but it feels like Wizkid, who was obviously pretty well established internationally before that song, hasn't had the same kind of ubiquity in the last few years. I like "Piece of My Heart," though, it's almost like 2 separate songs but Wizkid and Brent Faiyaz's voices sound good together on both of them. Here's the 2025 singles Spotify playlist I'm adding songs to throughout the year.
2. Tyla - "Push 2 Start"
Tyla is another African star whose profile has soared in America, and her album was well received with a string of moderately successful hits, but nothing was really more than a fraction as popular as "Water" so it was still like she just had one big song. "Push 2 Star" from the deluxe edition of the album recently became her second Hot 100 hit, though, so she's finally regaining some momentum to really forge a career beyond "Water" now.
3. Tyler, The Creator f/ GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne - "Sticky"
Tyler has gotten about as big as a rapper can get without much help from radio, but it's been interesting to watch radio slowly come around to him and him seemingly warming to the idea of making hit singles. It's been this gradual process from "Earfquake" to "WusYaName" to "Dogtooth" and now to "Sticky," which feels like it may wind up being his best known song for a long time. It kind of reminds me of how Chance the Rapper got pretty big with only one radio record, which was also a posse cut with some southern rappers including Lil Wayne. I wish the guests on "Sticky" got more than 4 bars each, but the whole thing hangs together really well, I love the beat switch to the random sample of Young Buck's great semi-forgotten 2007 single "Get Buck" and those piano chords at the end.
4. Lola Young - "Messy"
London singer Lola Young released an album on Island Records last summer that didn't make much of a splash at the time, although Tyler was ahead of the curve and featured her on Chromakopia. But a few weeks ago "Messy" blew up on TikTok and hit #3 in the UK and is starting to climb the Hot 100 as well, feels a little similar to how Chappell Roan's album took off 6 months after it was released.
5. Kendrick Lamar - "Squabble Up"
One thing that irritates me about the streaming era is that the songs that hit #1 on the Hot 100 feel increasingly arbitrary and disconnected from what ends up being the most popular song from a given album. "Please Please Please" does not feel bigger than "Espresso," "Slime You Out" does not feel bigger than "Rich Baby Daddy," and "Squabble Up" does not feel bigger than "Luther" or "TV Off." That being said, all three of the hits from GNX are good and have hung in there on radio playlists together for quite a while without one drowning out the others, and I love that Debbie Deb sample on "Squabble Up."
6. Doechii - "Denial Is A River"
It's a little unexpected that the biggest song from Alligator Bites Never Heal is a high concept track that doesn't really have a chorus. But Doechii has been on a tear with a string of amazing live performances, on Tiny Desk and Colbert and the Grammys, all of which prominently featured "Denial Is A River." And I heard "Denial" on the radio for the first time yesterday, and it works pretty well in that context.
7. NLE Choppa f/ 41 - "Or What"
NLE Choppa's "Slut Me Out 2" was a viral hit last year, but a song he did with the Brooklyn trio 41 that samples it, "Or What," has become a bigger radio hit, kind of has the vibe of the stuff that is regrettably known as 'sexy drill.' I don't even know which song I like better, both are pretty entertaining.
8. Carly Pearce - "Truck On Fire"
I feel like you can't really write a country song about fucking up an ex's truck without bringing "Before He Cheats" to mind, but this song's good, I'm glad there's finally another song from Hummingbird getting some radio play.
9. Brad Paisley - "Truck Still Works"
I kinda feel bad for Brad Paisley, it wasn't that long ago that he was one of the biggest stars in country music, but he's just been lobbing singles into an indifferent marketplace in the 8 years since he last released an album. I feel like the quality of his music hasn't changed at all, though, "Truck Still Works" is catchy, although he does play on nostalgia for his earlier work with a call back to one of his biggest hits, "Mud on the Tires," in the bridge.
10. Damiano David - "Born With A Broken Heart"
I have not liked Maneskin's stuff much, but their lead singer's debut solo single feels like a pleasantly earnest attempt to make something like "As It Was" by Harry Styles.
The Worst Single of the Month: Jonah Marais f/ Ryan Lewis - "Slow Motion"
I feel like people generally agreed that Ryan Lewis was pretty talented and a big part of why those Macklemore songs got big, and I'm surprised Lewis hasn't had more success as a producer outside of one Kesha single. I really dislike the song he did with a former member of the 2010s also-ran boy band Why Don't We, though.
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on Wednesday, February 12, 2025 at 9:28 AM.
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