10. Handmade Heaven - Marina
This ethereal ballad slash electronic lullaby from the magnificent Marina was the lead single from her album
Love + Fear. Brittany Spanos from
Rolling Stone highlights the "somber introspection" inherent in the song as Marina reveals "her jealousy of free, purposeful birds" which she strives to be like after realising there are "parts of her life that no longer work". She also put on quite a show in Central Park in the summer which helped me to discover her past hits.
9. Hell After This - Dido
Another highly anticipated return in 2019, 20 years after her debut hit album,
No Angel, was released.
Hell After This is a trumpet-tinged toe-tapping song with a YOLO message. The song is just as awesome live. Pitchfork's Stacy Anderson sums up Dido's appeal perfectly: "Her most stunning asset is still her voice—a glossy, palatial purr, fraying at the edges, nodding clearly to Enya and Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries".
8. All The Queen's Horses - Shakespears Sister
From the duo that brought you the stunning 80s hit
Stay,
All The Queen's Horses is an amazing country-infused pop song that is featured on their greatest hits compilation titled
Singles Party. The song is current and catchy with brilliant lyrics such as: "You came to me with promises you’d never keep / And words like iron roses / Thorns that cut so deep / All the queen’s horses, all the queen’s men / They couldn’t put us together again”.
7. Superpower - Adam Lambert
2019 was the year of Adam Lambert. First he released
Feel Something as a "gift" to his fans, an emotionally charged song that deals with his professional and personal struggles. Next came two singles,
New Eyes and
Comin' In Hot, which introduced his retro look and sound, complete with 70s locks and velvet suits. He was the frontman for Queen on their Rhapsody Tour and appeared on the cover of
Billboard magazine. Then he released
Velvet Side A with
Superpower as the first single with a Prince-esque bassline and falsetto vocals that make you want to strut down the street like John Travolta. And before the year ended, he gave us another gift by releasing his stripped down version of Cher's
Believe as a single.
6. Spirit In The Sky - Keiino
This was Norway's entry for this year's Eurovision contest held in Israel. The uptempo track, with 80s inspired beats, deals with the struggle for equality and should have done way better in the contest in my opinion.
5. Ice Cream - Mika
Mika made a triumphant return this year with his fantastic fifth album,
My Name is Michael Holbrook (which it is).
Ice Cream was the lead single and was the perfect summer anthem; it was accompanied by a sultry video, a nod to Kylie's Speedo-centric
Slow video. Follow-up singles
Tiny Love,
Sanremo and
Tomorrow proved to be some of his best work since his debut album back in 2007.
4. You Need To Calm Down - Taylor Swift
This video had everyone: Adam Lambert, Ellen, Drag Race queens, Adam Rippon, Billy Porter, Todrick Hall, Ryan Reynolds and Katy Perry in a hamburger costume. The queer-themed video concludes with a message asking viewers to support the Equality Act, something about which Taylor has been very outspoken. Oh and the song itself is damn catchy and provided a refrain for many real life situations this past year.
3. Castles - Freya Ridings
I was a fan of this song from English singer-songwriter Freya Ridings the first time I heard it and I had it on repeat for several days thereafter. It's an anthem if every I've heard one and her Florence Welsh-esque vocals combined with a dance-pop chorus make it one of the best songs of the year.
2. Crave - Madonna Feat. Swae Lee
While it is very difficult to single out a track from Madonna's
Madame X,
Crave is my favourite ballad and my second favourite song of the year. I loved the video (Madonna looks amazing as she sends love notes to Swae Lee by means of carrier pigeons) and LOVED the Tracy Young remix of the song that was used on the Madame X Tour, with Madonna dancing and singing in a stunning Versace ensemble.
1. Medellín- Madonna & Maluma
Okay, so by now my love for
Madame X (the album, the concept, the looks, the videos, the theatre tour) is well known. So it's no surprise that the first single from the album, featuring the suave Maluma, is also my top song of the year. It was during her performance of this song on the Madame X Tour that I got the closest I will ever get to Madonna, as she and her troupe came down into the aisle right next to my seat. The Offer Nissim Madame X in the Sphinx remix of the song was also my favourite remix of the year and had me cha-cha-chaing for many hours.
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