Hi guys, welcome back to The Social Tune! And today, it's the flip side: the Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2022!
I've gone back and forth a lot on how I feel about this year. According to the internet and this community in particular, this year was pretty abysmal, some even calling it the worst year for the charts since at least 2016. And maybe it's because I've always been so hard on that year, or because I was paying more attention to the Irish charts than to whatever Billboard was churning out, but I can't say I feel the same way.
If anything, this year just felt slow, taking a while to find its sound, and arguably never quite getting there. Like 2018, it feels like we're on the brink of a big transition, something akin to 2019, where experimentation and new artists are poised to take the spotlight. Or at least, that's what I hope, looking at the success of artists like Steve Lacy and Joji this year. They may just be one-hit-wonders, but with any luck and better promotion, maybe they could be the new trendsetters?
The truth is, we'll have to wait and see, because if anything, the music of the past had more of a foothold this year than anything else. And it didn't help that a lot of those legacy hits were absolutely excellent, often overshadowing their newer contemporaries, from Mr Brightside being one of the top 50 biggest songs in Ireland this year, to carry-overs from last year like good 4 u and Seventeen Going Under (my unofficial top pick for this list since it already made my 2021 one).
However, while all of this may lead you to believe that this is just a list of good-but-not-great B-tier hits, I'd argue that's not true either. While the overall quality was certainly lower than last year's batch, we still got a few great songs become quite popular this year. Not as many 10/10 instant classics, hence why I'm not doing another Top 15, but still enough quality that I'm very happy with these 10 picks. And on that note, why don't we kick things off with:
Number 10
The truth is, I think that your average critic wouldn't have any trouble making a Top 10 out of Ireland's Top 100 Hits of 2022. There are multiple critical darlings that could easily qualify, from Nicki Minaj's best hit in years, to the gorgeous rougher tones of Zach Bryan, to the absolute VIBE that was Burna Boy! So it might shock a lot of you to see me place this particular song above all of them.
Light Switch by Charlie Puth
YE position: #65
One way in which I think this year differed from 2018 is that music knew how to be fun. We danced with Lizzo, we karaokeed to Encanto, we laughed at Dermot Kennedy... that last one might just be me. Regardless, even the pissiest pop music of the year knew how to be catchy and melodic. And let's be honest here, "pissy pop catchiness" describes all of Charlie Puth's best music!
The moment this song dropped, it seemed to immediately elicit a negative response from most people, including myself. Many highlighted that, when compared to Charlie's best songs, it was very lightweight, the production didn't have nearly as much body to it, the tone felt incredibly pissy and mean-spirited, and the chorus "turn me on like a light switch" came across like a bad dad joke. But during the dry spell we found ourselves in the midst of during the first half of 2022, this became SUCH a goddamn breath of fresh air to me! It was catchy, the production was surprisingly layered upon repeated listens, until even the elements I didn't like at first - ie. the vocal layering, the cheap drum machine, the recycled 80s groove - all became features I really enjoyed about the song.
It also helps that I'm kind of a fan of cheesy pop music, and while this is definitely not Charlie Puth's best writing effort, he's very good at being petty in a way that feels relatable. He's not a bad guy, but he's not perfect either, unafraid to show that he fucks up repeatedly, and is also juuust vindictive enough to paint the finger back at this woman for being pretty manipulative, crooking her finger at him and bringing him back to fall for her again and again, even when it's bad for both of them!
On top of that, the songwriting might be a little lacking, but the way he punctuates each verse with different production flares keeps the entire thing feeling very dynamic, especially with the driving groove that underlines it all. The song has a great sense of momentum that makes it really pleasant to revisit. Charlie Puth has shown in recent years that he has a pretty great grasp of hard/soft dynamics, and while his ultra-polished pop sound definitely isn't for everyone, it does work for me... it's why I still go back to Voicenotes to this day.
Sadly, the rest of the album didn't have nearly the same effect on me. It's a giant step back that shows a shocking lack of budget compared to his last project, and the writing tends to range from borderline to extremely cringe. And yet while the same holds true for Light Switch... fuck it, I just really like the song! I'm never not in the mood to listen to it, and every time I think it might be too tinny, too cheap, and I'm ready to abandon it for "better music", it comes on and all of a sudden, I don't want to fight it, it just knows how to just make me want to... oh.
Number 9
Despite what I said before about how fun music could be this year... it certainly took some time to get going! A lot of the pop music in the first half of 2022 was slower, hazier, more downbeat and atmospheric... but occasionally, that kind of worked in its favour.
As It Was by Harry Styles
YE position: #2
No surprise here, but if I had to pick what is arguably the Song of the Year, unofficially, worldwide, it would definitely be this one. It's certainly the song I heard the most in 2022, whether I wanted to or not! Yeah, that particular factor made me struggle whether or not I should place it this high on the list; I mean there was a period in summer where I was SO sick of this! While admittedly catchy, the slightly barren mix made it hard revisit during the hotter months of the year, and Harry's soft-spoken tone didn't convey a huge amount of emotion. But as is the case with a lot of Harry Styles songs, it just took some time to click for me, until I had to accept it as the clear standout on Harry's House.
Frankly, this chillier sound works a lot better in autumn and winter, when you're feeling that perpetual sense of existential dread, as the days become shorter, the nights become longer, and you question every single one of your life choices leading up to the new year. The last couple of months of 2022 were ROUGH for me, and during that time, As It Was just developed this ethereal beauty that I really grew to appreciate, especially when you realise just how fucking miserable the lyrics are!
The song conveys a deep sense of melancholy, where Harry's slightly less expressive tone actually enhances the atmosphere. He could have made this more over-the-top and sad like on his best song Falling, or added a bit more of a tremor to his voice like on Cherry, but instead, his dead-eyed and emotionally exhausted tone ends up working really well for the type of song where you feel like everything's changed and you just can't keep up! People asking whether you're okay, whether you're on drugs, if you need people around you, and all underlined by the sobering reality that... no, you're really not alright. And nobody's really going to come and help bail you out. We've all been there before.
The song just picked up a huge amount of pathos in the later months of this year, where my life felt more or less out of my own control. Thankfully, I have a great support system - we'll get into that a bit later on this list - but there were still definitely some days where I listened to this song, stared out into the void, and just wallowed in my feelings. And for that, I'm really grateful to you, Harry. Keep it up man, I'm not quite sick of you yet.
Number 8
One side-effect of a slower year is that we got a fair few lesser-known artists trying to elbow their way onto the scene. Oh, we still had big names dropping albums, like Kendrick Lamar, but Mr Morale didn't really stick around commercially, and many of the other big releases of 2022 didn't impress me much... but there were some exceptions.
CUFF IT by Beyoncé
YE position: #49
As stated in the past, I am not a diehard member of the Beyhive. I absolutely fucking adore Lemonade and will talk about it for hours on end, but outside of that and maybe Dangerously in Love, that's about it for me. But like everyone else, I listened to Renaissance, and while I don't think it's perfect - I kind of love what it represents more than the actual execution - a few of the songs really stuck with me over the course of the year. And while Break My Soul was an initial blast of energy that faded on me a little with time, CUFF IT was incredible the first time I heard it and remained so with every subsequent listen!
I mentioned on my Worst list that the last thing I wanted to was dance to EDM trash... but that didn't mean I didn't want to dance at all! It's why I adored Florence & The Machine's new album this year (I wish you a full recovery soon, hope to see you in February), because for as cathartic as it is to wallow in existential dread, it's sometimes better to just scream and dance madly to music that makes you feel a little less alone. That's what I really love about CUFF IT and the majority of Renaissance, it's so inclusive, easily Beyoncé's most populous album to date!
Her performance here is commanding and terrific, the verses and the chorus flow together beautifully, and the production is excellent, particularly on those horns! But it's the bridge that sealed its place on this list, a change of pace where the bass kicks in more strongly and doubles down on the energy! Out of all the songs that she's released in recent memory, this is probably the one I NEEDED the most, and I really appreciated it.
What more can I say? Sometimes, it's best to leave it to the seasoned professionals.
Number 7
So I wouldn't say that I'm one to make a lot of controversial picks just for the sake of it. Hell, sometimes I kind of wish my music tastes were a little less vanilla, so I could surprise my readers a bit more. And maybe that's why this particular song stuck with me so much throughout the year, purely because I was really looking forward to revealing it on this list! I mean after all, by all accounts, this should not work!
she's all i wanna be by Tate McRae
YE position: #34
Everything I have said about Tate McRae absolutely still stands. I think that she's an absolutely abysmal singer. I think her half-assed attempts at emotion are generally dismal. She cribs from other artists so much that her only big hits can be directly tied back to bigger and far more talented singers! For all of those reasons, I think she's a terrible artist... but all of those qualities also lead to the best song of her career. Albeit accidentally.
See, I'm pretty sure that when this song was originally conceived, it was as a kiss-off to an ex. A poor girl who's been supplanted by another woman whom she can never live up to, replaced in the eyes of the boy she loved, even despite all of his previous reassurances that there was nothing between him and this other girl. But to me, the song is FAR more tragic than that! Because much like how you broke me first failed miserably at ripping off Billie Eilish, this falls flat while trying to imitate Olivia Rodrigo. After all, while the song SUCKS, you broke me first was HUGE, so why not go for the most popular breakout artist of 2021? And it certainly worked, vaulting the song all the way into the top 5 in multiple countries! And that desperate, last-ditch attempt to grasp any relevance with a hit, by whatever underhanded means necessary, that sheer desperation reverberates throughout the entire song.
It almost feels like a self-fulfilling prophecy: Tate McRae is trying so hard to be the Olivia here, trying to mimic the sound, the earnest lyrics, the emotive power... all in a voice that simply can't match any of the above. It's such a goddamn gut-wrenching song in a meta sense, where she's clearly doing all she can to be as successful, as talented as this other girl who is just SO out of her league. It's so tragic that it almost makes me laugh.
Now, as it happens, the song is also magnificently produced! The bouncy synth guitars, the frankly incredible melody line, and an undeniable buzzing bassline. And even with that, even with her clearly trying so hard, Tate McRae still sounds pretty terrible in isolation. And the more she fails, the more it highlights the tragedy of the song. And while I'm absolutely positive that I am not listening to it the way that she intended, it became an easy favourite of mine throughout the year. Possibly for the wrong reasons, but to me, this is the first time Tate McRae made me feel like I was genuinely seeing the real her.
Number 6
I'll admit, many of the songs on this list are a bit dour, or elevating in a more defiant sense, in spite of adversity. And... yeah, that trend doesn't stop here, but it is a damn sight more upbeat than practically anything else released this year!
About Damn Time by Lizzo
YE position: #21
Oh my goddess, insert everything I said about Beyoncé and then some! Don't get me wrong, I love CUFF IT, but it works best when I'm in a very rebellious mood, whereas this works in any setting! It was THE song of the summer, and even as my year got rougher, its hopeful nature just shone through! Now, I'm not the first person to draw the obvious comparison between this and Juice, they certainly share a similar sonic pallet. And yet despite that, I'd argue this does a great job forging its own path. For one thing, there's just a metric ton of hooks here, from the opening lines ("it's bad bitch o'clock, yeah it's thick-thirty"), to the entire pre-chorus, to the little flute that comes in on the latter half of the hook, to the phenomenal second verse, which really took off on TikTok! The entire song just grabs your attention from start to finish, and those funky guitars and that bass line are SO bouncy and upbeat, you can't help but get sucked in by it all.
That's all fairly straightforward, but I don't think nearly enough people have highlighted how positive this song is! Lizzo has spent a long time being ridiculously stressed, but now she's finally coming out the other end, realizing that it's not worth the worry, and finally allowing herself to be happy and alright for the first time in ages! And yeah, sometimes we all need that little voice telling us that it's about damn time we give ourselves a break! The song really did lift my spirits throughout the entire year, and deservedly stands as one of the biggest international hits of 2022!
Number 5
Now here's a song with all the right ingredients for me to like it, which initially made me highly critical of it. After all, I'M not like other critics, I certainly wasn't going to let this song manipulate and bait me... right?
Bad Habit by Steve Lacy
YE position: #29
Steve Lacy is actually an artist that I've been aware of for quite a while. He sang backup vocals and was featured on Tyler, the Creator's 911 / Mr. Lonely, one of the best songs on Flower Boy. This has lead to some obvious comparisons of their respective sounds... but to be honest, I think Steve Lacey's target audience might veer a little bit younger, as evidenced on this, his big breakout hit.
It's a song where he realises that he missed out on the romance of his life, too afraid to tell her how he felt, biting his tongue "like a bad habit", never knowing that she felt the same way he did! It's clearly a story of young love, probably young teenagers, who overthink and panic to the point where they get in their own way. Everything here, from the vulnerable singing, the immediately catchy melody line, the phenomenal instrumentation that never feels too overbearing, all of it is calculated to perfection. A song pulling from the sounds of Gen Z pop stars and pairing it with off-kilter artpop experimentation and a ton of little hooks throughout the track's runtime. The song is very much divided in 2 parts sonically, the "bite my tongue" part and the "biscuits and gravy" one, but it flows so well that I barely noticed the transition on the first 20 or so listens!
And the star holding it together is Steve Lacy himself, both shy and yet deeply charismatic from the first note to the last, with expert vocal layering and interplay. The song is just so easy to like, where even the more amateurish parts of the delivery and production feel very intentional, and honestly just add to the experience! An excellent track, and I'm positive I won't be the first or last one to say so during this List Season!
Number 4
So as you can probably tell from the tone of most of the songs on this list, this year was a TAD stressful for me! I moved to a completely different part of the country, I changed jobs (which didn't really work out so well) and I was in a state of panic due to various medical scares in the family throughout the year. Suffice to say, it was a lot. And yet, 2022 is still one of the best years of my life. Because I got engaged!
2step by Ed Sheeran
YE position: #79
This song is almost entirely here for corny reasons and I will not apologize for that! Now, it also just so happens to be one of my early favourites off of Equals, albeit a distant third to Visiting Hours and Overpass Graffiti. It had an instantly great hook, the rollicking guitar was nothing we hadn't heard from Ed Sheeran before, but worked incredibly well with the skittering trap percussion, and as usual, the standout element was the songwriting!
It would have been so easy to just make this another Perfect or Thinking Out Loud, a simple song about dancing with the person he loves, but - surprise surprise - the song takes things in a more existential direction! I mean the first line is "I had a bad week, spent the evening pretending it wasn't that deep", and throughout the entire track, he alludes to being depressed, having a crisis, and feeling like he's on the brink of a breakdown... if not for her. See, this isn't just a song about love, but support, relying on his partner to get through the rough times, where everything SUCKS, but she's the only thing he needs to lift him back up out of the darkness! Even when everything is falling to pieces, she is the one constant, the one person he can continually rely on. Yeah, that's something I really REALLY felt this year, and I know that I'm incredibly lucky for that.
It also helps that the technical songwriting is excellent. The way the pre-chorus, in particular, flows so seamlessly into the hook is SO pleasant, especially with the quirky rhyme scheme of "rest, mess, depressed, etc" on the verses- ARGH, it's like MONTERO's second verse all over again, it just gives me this giddy, happy feeling every time it plays! It may have barely become a hit anywhere but in Ireland, the Lil Baby remix may be VERY weird (Check out the Denise Chaila one, it's way better AND from Limerick!), and Ed Sheeran has certainly made far more ambitious songs in the past, but this is still an excellent little song! Plus, any song that can get me to tear up automatically makes the Top 5... speaking of which:
Number 3
... I'm FINE, it's not MY fault all of these cries for help became hits!!!
Surface Pressure by Jessica Darrow
YE position: #102
Out of all the songs on this list about coping with stress and anxiety, this is probably the most thuddingly obvious one. And considering how popular it was, the second-biggest hit off of the Encanto soundtrack, I'm obviously not the only one who was going through something this year! But I digress. Encanto is a good movie. I don't think it's the best that Disney has done in recent memory and I do think that a couple of the songs feel a little cheaply produced and VERY clearly written by Lin Manuel, for better and for worse. But from the start, I highlighted this as my absolute favourite from the soundtrack and that didn't change throughout the entire year. Hell, if anything, it only got better! It's the only instance where the bare-bones production and the very nerdy style of songwriting really work in the song's favour, they make the entire experience feel like even more of a nervous ramble.
Maribel's sister Luisa is the middle child, but she very much embodies the role of the leader, the strong older sibling who's always there to look after her family, supporting the Madrigal name, continually juggling all her responsibilities, pretending like nothing's ever too much and everything's fine... even when it isn't. Because if she shows even a shred of weakness, any sign of slipping under that crushing pressure at all, she might just fall apart. It's a song on a razor's edge, constantly on the brink of collapsing into fits of tears, where you can tell that the voice actor is not just singing but also acting her fucking heart out!
With every line, the song draws out the inevitable, making you feel like something's going to give and explode at any point. There are several points where it comes close, before pulling itself back from the edge, with well-placed sound effects, percussion cues, and some AMAZING lines to boot! Oh, and the real highlight is this rhyme scheme: "nervous, Earth is, churches, surface, berserk, circus, service, etc." and all across multiple verses?! Fucking amazing, and that's not counting all the OTHER internal rhymes, I mean just LOOK at this second verse:
"Under the surface
I hide my nerves, and it worsens, I worry something is gonna hurt us
Under the surface
The ship doesn't swerve as it heard how big the iceberg is
Under the surface
I think about my purpose, can I somehow preserve this?"
Genius! This is a song that genuinely drove me to tears almost every single time it played this year, and I have to recognise any song that can do that. And yeah, it's not all to do with the serotonin levels that flood my brain while analysing those rhymes... I'm the eldest sibling AND a people-pleaser, for fuck's sake! And that insatiable urge to keep everyone happy, spinning as many plates as possible, without panicking and just throwing up your hands and screaming...? Yeah, I feel that. Again, there was a reason I wasn't as active on my blog this year.
This song just had a profound impact on me, and the more I listened to it, the more I loved it. Even Amanda Palmer released a cover for it, that's a clear sign of quality! But for as good of a cover as that is, the original just kept growing on me. There were "better" songs released this year, but only a couple stuck with me the way this one did. So what could beat it?
Number 2
I have been very harsh on TikTok for many years now. I barely have any type of social media, which has also been the driving force behind music for a number of years now, even producing some hits I really love - death bed (coffee for your head) springs to mind - but I still don't like the platform. But I will say this: without TikTok, we probably wouldn't have gotten a slew of retro hits re-enter rotation this year. And while everybody and their mother is probably going to go on and ON about Running Up That Hill, I wanted to highlight a different song that crossed over here in Ireland. One that racked up a shocking number of points for the year-end list and became the artist's first song to top the Irish Spotify Charts EVER:
Lost by Frank Ocean
YE position: #88
This is going to get 3 consecutive reactions from pretty much everyone. The first being "How the HELL did this chart long and high enough to become an official hit in Ireland, 10 years after its release?!" (Again, TikTok.) Secondly, "Wait, can this qualify for your list considering it wasn't dropped in 2022?" (Absolutely, it's never been a hit here in the past.) And last but not least, "How the fuck is this NOT at the very top of the list?!" ... Now that last one is actually a good question.
Back when this first started charting, I reviewed it and said that it was one of the best songs from one of my favourite albums of the entire 2010s! And that hasn't changed, I still think that this song is phenomenal, a gorgeous slice of R&B at its very best, with a wonderful sense of liquid smooth tension, some gorgeous harmonising (especially on the bridge), and lyrics that paint a vivid picture, of a stripper with a heart of gold, searching for a better life and winding up lost, while he watches on as a sympathetic onlooker, powerless to help. I mean Frank Ocean is an absolute master of his craft, an artist who is frankly WAY too good for the charts, and this album is his magnum opus, a tour de force of amazingly-produced R&B and neo soul! I mean it's a critical darling for a reason, many would argue it is THE defining R&B album of the 2010s, so how the fuck is this NOT number 1?!
Well, as much as I love Lost, it probably wouldn't even make my top 5 from channel ORANGE at this point in time. It's certainly not my favorite Frank Ocean song - that's Pink + White, I will argue that till the day I die - but nevertheless, Lost is an incredible song, a staple of its genre, and I'm still stunned that it managed to rack up enough points to make it here. Guess I have to pledge fealty to TikTok now, damn it...
And now, before we get to number 1, a few more songs that deserve praise:
Honourable Mentions:
B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All) by Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal - YE position: #28
This dropped fairly late in the year and at first I thought it was absolutely disposable... but it really latched on and grew on me. There's something so subtly catchy about this unassuming little song, with so much quietly going on over its runtime.
Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift - YE position: #89
A late entry, and a great song from an extremely mid album... but I can't get over the "sexy baby" line.
Kiss Me by Dermot Kennedy - YE position: #59
I'm gonna say it: this is Dermot Kennedy's best single to date. It plays to all his strengths perfectly and the pop tinge was really fucking needed! If this stuck around as long as Giants or Outnumbered have, I would not complain.
Forget Me by Lewis Capaldi - YE position: #55
And in a very similar story, this is my favourite Lewis Capaldi song to date. Like I said before, the good influence of Niall Horan will go a long way, and the massive ego behind these lyrics kind of appeals to me.
Late Night Talking by Harry Styles - YE position: #24
This is the unofficial number 11 as far as I'm concerned. A song with such technically awful production and mixing really shouldn't sound as good as this does!
Last Last by Burna Boy - YE position: #63
This song can very easily become background music to me at times, but when I'm in the mood for it, there's nothing quite like it. What a vibe!
2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) by Lizzo - YE position: #80
My geek may show a bit with this, but the fact that 2 Be Loved and 2step ended up right next 2 each other on the year-end list is SO satisfying to me! Plus, over the course of the World Cup, it was played about a billion times and I grew to really like it.
Sunroof by Nicky Youre & dazy - YE position: #73
This song is so bright-eyed, amateurish and basic! And that just makes it all the more charming to me.
Super Freaky Girl by Nicki Minaj - YE position: #56
I said it before and I'll say it again, this is the best hit that Nicki has had in YEARS! I still don't like her as a person, but this is kind of excellent.
Enemy (Remix) by Imagine Dragons (Ft. JID) - YE position: #71
Yep, this made the Best list. And as much as I love JID, he's not the reason it's here, I love the original too.
Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush - YE position: #23
As good as this is, I don't think I adore it nearly as much as most people. But I did love the latest season of Stranger Things!
Something In The Orange by Zach Bryan - YE position: #93
Something about Zach Bryan reminds me of Chris Stapleton, an artist who's undeniably talented, has an amazing voice, and generally makes music that I absolutely love... and yet somehow I'll still end up returning to Charlie Puth more. Weird.
And that's all of them, so enough stalling.
Number 1
I think it's fair to say that over the course of my many lists, I've made it clear that I'm a bit of an emotional boy. I'm told it has something to do with my sun, moon and rising signs all being water ones, whatever that means. Regardless of WHY I'm like this, most of my picks tend to be from the heart, regardless of how ugly or controversial they may be to everyone else.
In this case though, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who wasn't utterly wrecked by this song on first listen.
Glimpse Of Us by Joji
YE position: #47
I'm sorry, this is devastating! Joji is an artist I've been following and supporting for the past couple of years, and while I wasn't there in the Filthy Frank days, I've grown to be a pretty big fan of his work. Run and SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK have both gotten heaps of praise from me in the past, and in an age where "sad boy pop" is the new sexy, I and many others thought Joji should have had a big hit years ago. Well, in 2022, it finally happened, and unlike poor Cian Ducrot, Joji's big break turned out to be one of his best ever songs!
On first listen, Glimpse Of Us sounds like a love song. It's tender, it's GORGEOUS... and it's incredibly sad! Because much like Meat Loaf's classic song Two Out of Three Ain't Bad, this is a story of a man who just can't love the woman he's with, much as he may want to. Oh, he realises how wonderful she is, making sacrifices for him, cheering him up when he's down, she's practically perfect... but perfect don't mean that it's working. And he fully recognises that HE is the problem, as he can't stop thinking about his ex. When he stares in her eyes, or tries to fall for her the way he's done in past relationships, he's really just "passing time in her arms", hoping to find a glimpse of what he and his ex once had.
It's a DEEPLY sad song, and very toxic in many ways, as he's claimed to have moved on, but deep down, he knows it's just not the same. And to make matters worse, his ex HAS moved on! She's happy, enjoying a new chapter in her life which he can't be a part of. And as much as Joji may fantasise that it may not work out, and that she might come running back to him, he knows that's never going to happen. Hell, it's clear that's not even what he really wants. Joji's a smart enough songwriter to frame this expertly, where the protagonist is very flawed, but also introspective. So you can still sympathise with him, you feel his pain.
And the other side of that gut-punch is OBVIOUSLY the production! Of all the song on this list, this is by FAR the most beautiful, a layered piano ballad with a ton of multitracking, atmospheric reverb, and one of the most beautiful bridges of the year, without even speaking a word! The song sounds stunning, and more than earns its melancholic tone, it just fills me with awe whenever I listen to it. Glimpse Of Us tops this list because in a year where pop music felt like it would never rise to the heights of the previous one, it delivered a piece of art that blew me away with its layered complexities, both lyrically and sonically! The fact that it manages to tug at your heartstrings, control so much melodrama with such a relatively mellow sound, and have such easy command over its atmosphere... again, this is one of Joji's best. And the fact that it got so big, finally giving him the crossover hit he's been owed for years... of course this had to be number 1!
Glimpse Of Us by Joji, my favourite hit song of 2022 by a mile! Let me know if you agree, and what YOUR favourite hits of the year were. Subscribe to the blog and follow me so you don't miss a thing. And until the next time, I'm Fionn and this is The Social Tune signing off. YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist/Best-2022
Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/Top-10-Best-Hit-Songs-of-2022