Monthly Report: November 2025 Singles
1. Jenevieve - "Head Over Heels"
Jenevieve Johnson is an R&B singer from Miami who released her second major label album in August, but I didn't really get hip to her music until "Head Over Heels" popped up on the R&B radio charts in the last few weeks. Great song, love that unexpected little pause in the intro and all the variations in the vocal melody and the backing track. Here's the 2025 singles Spotify playlist I update every month.
2. Raye - "Where Is My Husband!"
I dance around the house so much when this song comes up on my playlist, I love how she just kind of leans into the silliness of this song while still making the emotion of it feel real. She's operating on a crazy level of craft, really really singing in super fast cadences like a rapper about as well as anyone not named Beyonce ever has, and the song is just jam packed with all these fun little riffs and dynamics.
3. Zara Larsson - "Crush"
At first I was annoyed that U.S. radio went for "Crush" when "Midnight Sun" was the bigger hit in her native Sweden, but really I just like every song on Zara Larsson's new album, and "Crush" has grown on me a lot. Great chorus, great modulation on the bridge.
4. Hayley Williams - "Parachute"
The more parasocial Paramore fans quickly picked up that Taylor York doesn't play on Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party like her first solo album and that several songs could be about the end of their relationship. And since those initial 17 songs were released, she's added three more songs to the album that make it really clear that that's exactly what she's writing about. The second verse of "Parachute" is probably the most emotionally wrenching thing Williams has ever written, I find it a little overwhelming every time I listen to it.
5. Tyla - "Is It"
People tried way more to make "Push 2 Start" a big record for Tyla, but this is the one since "Water" that I think really showcases her on-record charisma, feels like the right tempo and right kind of production for her. I'm a little annoyed that she's already moved on to another single that I don't like nearly as much, "Chanel."
6. The Last Dinner Party - "This Is The Killer Speaking"
Last year the Last Dinner Party released a cover of "This Town Ain't Big Enough For the Both of Us" and they just absolutely nailed it, great rendition of the song. "This is the Killer Speaking" doesn't sound like that per se, but it feels like it plays around with dynamics and tempo changes in a similar way, much more than anything on their first album, I love how it builds up to the ending.
7. Gorillaz f/ Sparks - "The Happy Dictator"
Speaking of Sparks! They opened for Blur back in '95 so in retrospect I'm kind of surprised it took this long for them to be featured on a Gorillaz track. This is the first time they've appeared on Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart, although they were staples of KROQ in the '80s before Billboard had started the chart (then Modern Rock).
8. Demi Lovato - "Here All Night"
Three years ago, Demi Lovato held a jokey 'funeral for my pop music' while releasing her first guitar-driven album in over a decade, Holy Fvck. She recently released a dance pop album aptly titled It's Not That Deep, and I like both of those records, it's all in fun to me.
9. Aespa - "Rich Man"
A demo of this song has circulated with an intro that samples the famous Cher interview clip that inspired the song, but the real version has a sort of reenactment that really kind of flubs the line in an annoying way. Still, using that as the premise of a pop song is kinda brilliant.
10. Saweetie f/ J. White Did It - "Boffum"
Saweetie's two biggest solo hits both samples mid-2000s Lil Jon productions, and I never really liked those, but I think she did a much better job with this song that samples Young Buck's "Shawty Wanna Ride." It's kind of unfortunate that it's come out at a time when Saweetie's career has become a laughing stock, because I think it's one of the best thing she's done, the second verse is great ("where the USD/ still see that ass in a two X tee/ wanna stick it in like a USB/ put a Trojan on like USC").
The Worst Single of the Month: Chase Matthew - "Darlin'"
I almost like this song but Chase Matthew's voice makes the lyric sound even more jerky and aggressive than it already is. Right now it's #1 on country radio and Jackson Dean is #2, so I feel personally invested in Chase Matthew getting out of that spot so Jackson Dean can have his first #1 hit.
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on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 11:51 AM.
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