In a time when artists are producing a larger quantity of music in an effort to retain the public’s attention, 2024 offered a multitude of new projects from many performers.
Because of the influx of projects released this year, I struggled to narrow this list to 10 songs. I simply could not list every worthy track.
- “Where It Ends” by Hunter Metts
For all my indie fans, let me introduce you to Hunter Metts. This track tells of a relationship’s end. It also reflects on the beauty of the relationship’s beginning. “Where It Ends” is accompanied by a gloomy instrumentation that is a can’t-miss and invokes feelings like “I’m glad it happened” instead of “I’m sad it’s over.”
- “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan
Newcomer Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” is a combination of ’80s-ish production, vulnerable queer storytelling and angelic vocals, and the best part is the song became a mainstream smash. She sings to a closeted lover and bids her “good luck” before repeating, “You’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling,” implying that our new pop diva will be in her mind (and ours) for years to come.
- “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
“If the world was ending / I’d wanna be next to you” is a lyric that holds and haunts. Though this theme is nothing we have not heard before, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars put a fresh take on it, and their incredible vocals make up for the borderline cliche.
- “Juno” by Sabrina Carpenter
2024 is the year of Sabrina Carpenter, particularly with the release of her album “Short n’ Sweet.” Although I did not find the album especially worthy, I do think “Juno” deserves the same smash treatment that “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” received. The song’s theme, though quite promiscuous, is done hilariously and in classic Carpenter style.
Like Roan’s entry on this list, “Juno” sounds like it could be from a previous generation, and because of that, there is a sense of nostalgia in the music that makes me want to smash the repeat button again and again.
- “Fall of Summer” by Scotty McCreery
It is sad boy summer for country crooner Scotty McCreery.
“Fall of Summer” sees McCreery reminisce on a summer years ago when he lost love; it is a track for those with a summer fling and truly some of the star’s best work.
- “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey
Country music’s newest addition is Shaboozey, the man behind one of the year’s biggest hits — “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”
Usually, this would be the kind of country song that I would detest, but this track is such an infectious good time that I have to give Shaboozey credit. I wholeheartedly believe that the soul of country music is vulnerable storytelling and life truths. However, there is a flip side to the genre full of “good time” tunes. This song is a really well done good time tune, and I admire it for being the best of the best in that department.
- “eternal sunshine” by Ariana Grande
I am not just riding the “Wicked” high putting the title track of Ariana Grande’s seventh studio album at No. 4 on this list — she deserves her flowers. As an underrated song on an underrated album, “eternal sunshine” is some of Grande’s best, as it specifically addresses her divorce and the events that followed it.
This song is gentle and sets the record straight for anyone that blamed her for something that was never their business in the first place.
- “I Let Him Love Me” by Laci Kaye Booth
Laci Kaye Booth dropped her album “The Loneliest Girl In The World” earlier this year, and it is a skipless ride through an indie country singer-songwriter’s personal journey and time in the music industry. One notable pick from this record is “I Let Him Love Me,” a song about an ex-lover returning to share that they want her back.
Her response is found best in the bridge with, “You don’t get me now / Cause you didn’t want me then.”
- “Never Need Me” by Rachel Chinouriri
“Never Need Me” is the “good pop” sound that so many people have been longing for recently. It is an indie pop track that has been stuck on repeat for me since its release, due largely in part to a fantastic build up and down the track.
Listeners are told of Rachel Chinouriri’s confidence after letting go of someone that clearly did not deserve her time, and this is in tandem with an obsessive production that leaves us pulled in right up to the end of the song.
This is pop perfection. Listen to it. Thank me later.
- “things I don’t chase” by Carly Pearce
Carly Pearce’s fourth studio album, “hummingbird,” was incredibly underrated. The album is crafted by the finest fiddle instrumentation and some of the most clever wordplay country music has seen in a long time; “things I don’t chase” is no exception to this rule with a crushing hook like “Cowboys and whiskey are two things I don’t chase.”
The song encourages listeners to recognize their self-worth and not follow someone who has made their decision to leave. “I know if he wanted to, he would’ve stayed” is a line that expands the “if he wanted to, he would” saying. And despite her strong desire to love the cowboy riding away, she starts her chorus with “I’m gonna sit here” as a chilling testimony to her strength and willingness to love herself.
“I’m okay if he’s thinking ‘bout going / I wouldn’t want him anyway,” is a line that should encourage and inspire anyone in need of a reminder of what they should (and should not) be chasing. And we should be chasing this song all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
