Tansike's Year-End Charts 2022 [#2 - #1]

[Blondini]

Agreed! But it hurt that they had to open the show + they're from a country that rarely does well there.

I already forgot & just remembered that they actually came 4th in the Semi, that's a better result at least.

oh right. That's actually good. Better in the charts, then!

[Tansike]

.[/QUOTE][/CENTER]

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7. Taylor Swift – Carolina
363 points



Chartrun: *1*-1-2-5-6-5-4-8-14-22-26-38-Out-RE 38-SC / 13w
Certification: GOLD

Ever since exploring the Indie-Folk sound on her albums Folklore and Evermore, there was no denying that this music direction also truly fits to Taylor, and it worked again on Carolina. The song was recorded for the soundtrack of 2022 murder mystery film Where the Crawdads Sing – probably the reason why the mainstream didn’t pick this up, but to me, this is among Taylor’s best singles ever. A simply gorgeous yet still super catchy ballad – it’s heavy, but still was something I loved to listen to during Summer.

Following Bejeweled (#36) and Anti-Hero (#10), this is Taylor’s third and final appearance on the countdown. The singer also bubbled under with All Too Well (Taylor’s Version) (#118), This Love (Taylor’s Version) (#145), Message In A Bottle (#166), Christmas Tree Farm (#279), The Joker And The Queen alongside Ed Sheeran (#329) and I Knew You Were Trouble (#438). This Love (Taylor’s Version) and Christmas Tree Farm were also number one hits on the weekly charts.

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6. Stefan – Hope
369 points



Chartrun: *1*-2-3-3-8-8-15-22-18-9-16-24-35-Out / 13w
Certification: GOLD

Stefan represented his home country Estonia with Hope at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, and ended up scoring the biggest Eurovision hit of 2022 on my weekly charts. This Western Pop anthem feels like it’s been heavily influenced by Avicii’s Wake Me Up, but also by Måns Zelmerlöw’s Heroes, the winning song from the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. If a song is good, then I don’t really mind these similarities and yes, while the formula behind Hope may be nothing new, it’s been a few years since a Western Pop song like this made it through to the mainstream and Stefan delivered it well enough to make a proper impact. This was one of my first Eurovision discoveries in 2022 and I was completely hooked on the live performance on Eesti Laul, the Estonian national pre-selection for the contest, and I still think Stefan’s performance there was much better compared to the contest itself, where the performance had to suffer from the bad or lack of staging.

Besides being the highest placed Eurovision entry from 2022, Stefan’s Hope also becomes the highest placed Estonian entry ever, surpassing Elina Nechayeva’s La forza that reached #11 on the Year-End Charts 2018.

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5. Rina Sawayama – Hold The Girl
400 points



Chartrun: 9-8-3-*1*-2-6-12-5-11-16-22-24-31-33-34-39-Out / 16w
Certification: PLATINUM

Pop phenomenon Rina Sawayama already got lots of critical acclaim but also love from many fans when she released her debut album Sawayama back in 2020. Despite all the love, the album couldn’t produce a big hit on my weekly chart then, or at least not until the Japanese-British singer released Lucid as part of an album re-release in late 2020. The song got certified with Platinum but due to its unlucky release date, it reached #111 on the Year-End Charts 2020 and #48 on the Year-End Charts 2021. When she finally announced her second album Hold The Girl for a Fall 2022 release, all eyes were on her and following a great first single This Hell and a solid second release in Catch Me In The Air, the title track was released as the third single in July and blew me away! What a clever Pop song, somehow combining several modern elements from the Pop genre but still managing to sound completely fresh. I used the phrase this should have been a commercial hit so many times but Hold The Girl deserves it the most – how this wasn’t the big commercial breakthrough for Rina is truly beyond me.

Hold The Girl is already Rina’s third and final appearance on the countdown, as she already charted with This Hell (#87) and Beg For You alongside Charli XCX (#32). Meanwhile, Follow Me with Pabllo Vittar (#123), Phantom (#177), Hurricanes (#223), Frankenstein (#263) and Catch Me In The Air (#400) all appeared on the Bubbling Under updates.

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[Thriller]

Hope was an underrated one from ESC!

Hold The Girl I was a bit unsure of immediately after loving This Hell so much but it showed its brilliance eventually.

[heppolo]

"Hope" was one step away from falling into that Avicii-esque territory Estonia seems to love, Stefan's a great singer and it was a wonderful show closer.
Rina had a wonderful 2022, "Hold The Girl" was one of my faves.

[JSparksFan]

"Anti-Hero" was a fine lead single. I loved the "SloMo" live performance, but the song itself was just okay for me.

"Carolina" never connected with me, whereas "Hold the Girl" took a minute, but ultimately became one of the most-played songs of 2022 for me.

[crystalphoenix]

It was actually the only real Night Call hit, as Hallucination wasn't even part of the album iirc. Crave was just a grower once the album came out, while Starstruck never really did much to me. So similar feelings like you it seems.

Yeah, it's a shame that album followed the increasingly-common trend of not having any more singles once the album itself drops, since there were plenty of single/video-worthy options left.

Ah yes, I still remember the Baby situation well. Took both of us some time to get into it. Used To Know Me should have been such a big hit, but even failed to make a proper impact on UKMix...

Ha, I'm guilty there too by "only" sending it to No. 8 on my weekly chart.

• I really like how you're organizing your write-ups for the Top 10, with the first paragraph being a more subjective review/your backstory with the song, while the second paragraph focuses on data/numbers. Minor spoiler: but I LOVE that "Anti-Hero" managed to make both of our Year-End Top 10's after exactly 10 weeks! Its perfect chorus gets mentioned a lot, and it definitely played a big role in getting me hooked on the song too, but I appreciate how you also draw attention to the clever opening line: "I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser...." I feel you there, Tay!
• I don't follow Eurovision super-closely, but "SloMo" got enough love around UKMIX that it wound up in my library
• We had very different reactions to "Carolina," but it makes sense that you'd be able to appreciate its style more than me. Like you mention, it has a "heaviness" to it that didn't click with me as much (not just in terms of the lyrics, but the music itself feels "heavier"/darker/more somber, even compared to a lot of folklore and evermore)
• I'm shedding an ocean of tears of joy at "Hold The Girl" making your Top 5! I'd probably still say SAWAYAMA > Hold The Girl overall, but "Hold The Girl" might be my top-favorite Rina track now. It has such an epic/grand feeling to it that builds so effectively throughout the song

[Tansike]

Hope was an underrated one from ESC!

Hold The Girl I was a bit unsure of immediately after loving This Hell so much but it showed its brilliance eventually.

It really was - but Estonia was also one of the countries that suffered the most from the "bad" staging.

Glad to hear Hold The Girl has been a grower for you

[Tansike]

"Hope" was one step away from falling into that Avicii-esque territory Estonia seems to love, Stefan's a great singer and it was a wonderful show closer.
Rina had a wonderful 2022, "Hold The Girl" was one of my faves.

Yes, very Avicii, but also very Mans Zelmerlöw / Heroes. Still, it's been a enough years, usually countries send copycats to the contest right the year after

2022 was definitely a big year for Rina, agreed. Can't wait to hear what she'll bring next

[Tansike]

"Anti-Hero" was a fine lead single. I loved the "SloMo" live performance, but the song itself was just okay for me.

"Carolina" never connected with me, whereas "Hold the Girl" took a minute, but ultimately became one of the most-played songs of 2022 for me.

Anti-Hero <3 Musically not even among my favorites on Midnights, but lyrically just top-notch. Yasss glad you enjoyed the SloMo performance too!

Ah yes, I know I'm in the minority on UKMix (and probably the whole world ) when it comes to Carolina, but it's truly magical to my ears. Glad we both share the love for Hold The Girl though

[Tansike]

Yeah, it's a shame that album followed the increasingly-common trend of not having any more singles once the album itself drops, since there were plenty of single/video-worthy options left.

True. But I guess that's just how music works nowadays. Even though the charts are stale, the releases are as quick as never before.

Ha, I'm guilty there too by "only" sending it to No. 8 on my weekly chart.

But hey, at least Charli did super well with other songs on your charts, so there's that

• I really like how you're organizing your write-ups for the Top 10, with the first paragraph being a more subjective review/your backstory with the song, while the second paragraph focuses on data/numbers. Minor spoiler: but I LOVE that "Anti-Hero" managed to make both of our Year-End Top 10's after exactly 10 weeks! Its perfect chorus gets mentioned a lot, and it definitely played a big role in getting me hooked on the song too, but I appreciate how you also draw attention to the clever opening line: "I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser...." I feel you there, Tay!
• I don't follow Eurovision super-closely, but "SloMo" got enough love around UKMIX that it wound up in my library
• We had very different reactions to "Carolina," but it makes sense that you'd be able to appreciate its style more than me. Like you mention, it has a "heaviness" to it that didn't click with me as much (not just in terms of the lyrics, but the music itself feels "heavier"/darker/more somber, even compared to a lot of folklore and evermore)
• I'm shedding an ocean of tears of joy at "Hold The Girl" making your Top 5! I'd probably still say SAWAYAMA > Hold The Girl overall, but "Hold The Girl" might be my top-favorite Rina track now. It has such an epic/grand feeling to it that builds so effectively throughout the song

Aw, thank you so much!! I appreciate that you like how I organize them. These write-ups are the only reason why it takes me two days to post new updates sometimes (or longer in previous years) when I would like to do daily updates. But writing my "feelings" in English is still a bit challenging so I'm glad it gets recognized! And YESSS at Anti-Hero ... and don't forget, Midnights is her 10th album!
The chorus also has the advantage of being catchy which is maybe why most people are drawn to these lyrics the most, but yes, your quoted opening <3 <3 <3

Yay for SloMo. Have you seen her performance? It's better than the actual song IMO.

Yes, I think I was the only one who truly rooted for Carolina on here last year but as you say, it probably makes sense with my overall music taste also having lots of "darker" influences.

Oh wow, her best song ever? Congrats!! Perfect choice honestly, it's just such a well made Pop tune. It's a weird combination of having so many elements we as Pop lovers want in Pop music, yet it's still nothing we ever heard, right?
(side note, it was the exact same amount of chart points on my charts like Lucid and I truly can't choose between these two as my top favorite from her )

[flopho]

Happy to see another Eurovision participant quite high here, Hope is one of the better tracks of the year for sure. I guess it's a little formulaic maybe, but I don't mind that. It's a shame that the performance was one those who were most affected by the staging malfunction.

Yaay more Rina and what a brilliant song from her! Had a similar experience as Thriller shared, I initially thought 'hm okay this is nice', kinda skipped over it actually but eventually it clicked with me, especially the 'magic' of the last chorus. Hope I can see her perform this live this year, fingers crossed!

[Tansike]

Happy to see another Eurovision participant quite high here, Hope is one of the better tracks of the year for sure. I guess it's a little formulaic maybe, but I don't mind that. It's a shame that the performance was one those who were most affected by the staging malfunction.

Yaay more Rina and what a brilliant song from her! Had a similar experience as Thriller shared, I initially thought 'hm okay this is nice', kinda skipped over it actually but eventually it clicked with me, especially the 'magic' of the last chorus. Hope I can see her perform this live this year, fingers crossed!

Ah, glad to hear you think so about Hope! I've been rooting for this the most going into the actual contest week, but in the end I completely got why it didn't do better on the contest. But going into the contest, I felt alone by rooting for this so much and that's usually not a good sign anyways

Also good to hear that Hold The Girl has been a grower for you too! I feel like most people on UKMix share their appreciation for this song, it just differs as some loved it right away, why it was a grower for others. Oh, good luck then! I already thought about buying tickets to her show in Switzerland. Still not sure yet though (I don't like the venue she's playing in )

[Tansike]

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4. Faun feat. Eluveitie – Gwydion
420 points



Chartrun: *1*-1-1-1-2-7-14-12-23-21-22-31-34-30-27-26-33-33-40-Out / 19w
Certification: PLATINUM

Faun is a band from Germany that was formed back in 1998 and is known for their Pagan-Folk, Darkwave and Medieval music. Ever since their seventh studio album Von den Elben vom 2013, the band has been super successful in the German speaking countries, but were already known in the Pagan scene previously. Since my heart also beats a lot for this Pagan-Folk / Medieval stuff, I’ve been listening to Faun for a few years as well. Meanwhile, Eluveitie is a Folk-Metal band from my country, Switzerland, and has been among the most successful bands from Switzerland on an international level for a while. I’ve also got to truly love their music in mid 2017, when they released their seventh album Evocation II: Pantheon, with their new lead singer back then. So when Faun announced their eleventh studio album called Pagan in 2022 and teased this collaboration, I was extremely looking forward to hearing it - and thankfully, they also went with a proper single release right before the album dropped, and my expectations were met! This is a brilliant Pagan-Folk song, where Faun takes the lead in the first half, until Eluveitie mixes it up in the second half. Sadly, the male singer from Faun and the female lead from Eluveitie aren’t part of this, as I was especially looking forward hearing Fabienne from Eluveitie on this as well, but both bands have tons of members so it may have been to ambitious to fit all of them into this. And in the end, Gwydion still ended up as a pretty epic song for this genre and will most likely remain on my playlists for a long time.

With 19 weeks on the Singles Top40 and four weeks atop, Gwydion is the third longest running number one single and also third longest charting single of 2022. Midway in its chartrun it started to drop quickly due to the Eurovision season that had its impact then, but the song still showed great longevity in that period.

Gwydion is the first Platinum certified and therefore most successful single ever for both bands. It’s already Faun’s third appearance this year, as they already charted with Tamlin (#59) and Neun Welten (#15), with Wainamoinen (#126), Galdra feat. Lindy-Fay Hella (#140) and Baldur (#211) all bubbling under. Meanwhile, Eluveitie also bubbled under with Exile Of The Gods (#114) and Adius (#176), their only releases of 2022.

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3. Noah Cyrus – I Just Want A Lover
427 points



Chartrun: 2-*1*-1-3-4-6-6-7-10-18-20-18-25-31-36-Out / 15w
Certification: PLATINUM

Following three EP’s and tons of stand alone singles since making her debut with Make Me (Cry) all the way back in 2016, Noah Cyrus finally released her full-length debut album with The Hardest Part in 2022. I’ve been a fan from the beginning, as most of Noah’s singles and EP’s entered my weekly chart, just like the three pre album singles, but once The Hardest Part dropped, it was super clear that I Just Want A Lover is the highlight of the record and thankfully, Noah also released a video for this track right at the album release day. An extremely catchy and hypnotic Alt-Pop song that seems to draw inspiration from the likes of Lana Del Rey, Banks or other artists from that genre, but still shows that Noah has definitely found a sound that seems true to her. A true robbed hit on all charts out there, but thankfully this seemed to have connected with UKMix at least.

While being Noah’s highest placed song ever on a Year-End Charts, Again (feat. XXXTENTACION) had six points more but placed #6 on the Year-End Charts 2017.

The Hardest Part truly got Noah a very successful year in 2022, as besides I Just Want A Lover, the singles Mr. Percocet (#90) and Ready To Go (#11) also appeared on the countdown. Noah (Stand Still) with her father Billy Ray Cyrus (#153) and I Burned LA Down (#301) also appeared on the Bubbling Under updates.

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[Thriller]

Noah surprised me with that one, a really nice melody - would’ve been a hit for someone with a bigger profile.

[heppolo]

Faun & Eluveitie do have some sort of synergy, they brought out the best of each other in "Gwydion"

[Tansike]

Noah surprised me with that one, a really nice melody - would’ve been a hit for someone with a bigger profile.

True... she's still way too underrated... I'm surprised this didn't become a surprise hit like some of her previous singles have become.

[Tansike]

Faun & Eluveitie do have some sort of synergy, the brought out the best of each other in "Gwydion"

Agreed! A brilliant song from that genre <3

[Tansike]

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2. Lindsey Stirling feat. Amy Lee – Love Goes On And On
541 points



Chartrun: *1*-1-1-1-1-3-3-9-8-14-19-24-23-25-32-30-32-27-34-37-33-33-28-24-SC / 24w
Certification: PLATINUM

Followers of my weekly charts probably know by now: I adore Lindsey Stirling! The violinist broke through with her self-titled debut album in early 2013 and ever since that moment, she’s become one of my most favorite artists and also one of the most successful artists ever on my weekly charts. Back in 2019, she released her last proper studio album with Artemis, where Love Goes On And On with Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee was an album track and a very early standout. They both already did a tour together in the US and Lindsey was already featured on Evanescence’s song Hi-Lo back in 2017. As a big fan of Amy as well, Love Goes On And On was a long overdue collaboration and especially fans from Lindsey have been asking for this for years, and we finally got it - and we didn’t get disappointed! A wonderful song, where Lindsey’s gorgeous violin play starts the song, Amy slowly adds some beautiful adlibs, and then it all kicks in.

So nearly three years after Lindsey’s album dropped, she finally served the fans, shot and released a video for Love Goes On And On with Amy Lee, and made this the final single of the album cycle. The song is still charting on my weekly charts, and with five weeks atop and 24 weeks charting in 2022, it’s the second longest running top hit and also second longest charting song of the year. It adds to already extremely impressive stats in Lindsey’s career, as it’s already her ninth year making the Top10 on a Year-End Charts, having done so in all years since 2013 except 2021 - Crystallize (#1 in 2013) and Artemis (#1 in 2019) made it all the way, while Shatter Me feat. Lzzy Hale (#3 in 2014), Take Flight (#4 in 2015), Lost Girls (#5 in 2018), Underground (#2 in 2019) and Sleepwalking (#4 in 2020) were all pretty high up too.

As for 2022, Love Goes On And On is Lindsey’s fourth and final appearance on the countdown following Joy To The World (#62), Ice Storm (#23) and Snow Waltz (#13). O Holy Night (#134), I Wonder As I Wander (#143), Sleepwalking (#410) and Carol Of The Bells (#418) are all bubbling under. Amy Lee’s Evanescence released no new music in 2022, but still bubbled under with Going Under (#299), My Immortal (#404) and Call Me When You’re Sober (#449) due to a concert effect.

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1. Grimes – Shinigami Eyes
843 points



Chartrun: *1*-1-1-1-1-3-3-7-9-6-6-9-12-14-20-Out-RE 5-1-1-6-7-11-15-20-23-31-29-36-40-38-37-34-Out / 31w
Certification: 2x PLATINUM

The title as the most successful song of 2022 goes to Shinigami Eyes by Grimes!

Already all the way back in January 2022, Grimes released Shinigami Eyes and from the first time I’ve heard this song and saw its video, I knew she created magic with it and it will be extremely tough to top this - and no one else did in the end. Sometimes, listening to music is just like a trip, and Shinigami Eyes is just exactly that. It’s dreamy, it’s hypnotic, it ties you up in its own world, it’s addictive, it makes you happy, it’s spheric, and it just needs to be played over and over again, while somehow it still never gets boring. And that’s still just the song itself - the video it got just makes everything even better. Someone on YouTube said Grimes with a budget is unstoppable and she truly is. Something about this song and its video also give me major Kerli vibes - an artist who is probably not too known anymore, but some followers of my weekly charts may still remember her as one of my most favorite artists from back in the days.

The title Shinigami Eyes comes from the Manga series Death Note, a Manga that I read as a Teen. So me enjoying this so much is also something like a full circle moment.

Shockingly and somehow criminally, Shinigami Eyes is Grimes’ only release of 2022. She did however release Player Of Games shortly before the end of 2021 and the song still made it all the way to #21 on the Year-End Charts 2022 as her only other notation. It’s no secret anymore that Grimes isn’t into normal album rollouts and following her divorce with Elon Musk she also had enough personal things going on, so here’s hope she can finally concentrate on her music again in 2023, as the potential she’s got is huge.

With 31 weeks on the weekly charts in 2022, Shinigami Eyes is the longest charting song of the year, being seven weeks ahead of its closest rival Love Goes On And On. With seven weeks at number one, it’s also the longest running number one hit of the year. There hasn’t been a song that spent this many weeks atop the weekly charts in a calendar year since 2016.

Call me nerd, but something in me loves how last years #1 - Shum by Go_A - was Ukrainian for Noise, just how the #1 of 2020 was called (Noise by Nightwish). And now, Shinigami Eyes starts with Sh just like Shum, while Grimes starts with a G just like Go_A. Maybe a song with Eyes in its title can snatch the crown in 2023?

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[heppolo]

I am glad Grimes is serving us some cosmic hyperpop with her own touch, "Shinagami Eyes" is instantly recognizable in a world with the millions of songs being produced every week.Great #1, congratulations!

[Thriller]

Fab #1, it was a banger!

[JSparksFan]

Wow, that's a massive winning margin! I like your no. 2 more than your no. 1, but both are decent songs. Strong list overall this year, as always.

[crystalphoenix]

Aw, thank you so much!! I appreciate that you like how I organize them. These write-ups are the only reason why it takes me two days to post new updates sometimes (or longer in previous years) when I would like to do daily updates. But writing my "feelings" in English is still a bit challenging so I'm glad it gets recognized! And YESSS at Anti-Hero ... and don't forget, Midnights is her 10th album!
The chorus also has the advantage of being catchy which is maybe why most people are drawn to these lyrics the most, but yes, your quoted opening <3 <3 <3

Yeah, I wish I'd started my write-ups further in advance (or at least rough drafts/outlines), since keeping up with them while trying to post each update on a consistent schedule can be a struggle. I have a hard enough time articulating exactly why I like certain songs using my native language, so I can't imagine attempting that in a less-familiar one. Extremely impressive, Tancel!

Yay for SloMo. Have you seen her performance? It's better than the actual song IMO.

The video's region-locked but I'm pretty sure either you or UKMIXer Fan nudged me to check it out at some point last year, so I've probably seen it at least once. It sounds like you thought "SloMo" had the absolute-best Eurovison performance, but you prefer "Hope" as a song?

Oh wow, her best song ever? Congrats!! Perfect choice honestly, it's just such a well made Pop tune. It's a weird combination of having so many elements we as Pop lovers want in Pop music, yet it's still nothing we ever heard, right?
(side note, it was the exact same amount of chart points on my charts like Lucid and I truly can't choose between these two as my top favorite from her )

I do like "Lucid," but the correct choice is clearly HTG.

• You're definitely the UKMIXer I associate with Noah the most! Someday your enthusiasm might rub off on me more Interesting factoid about "Again" landing a few spots lower despite having more points in 2017. Were point totals lower in general this year, or was 2017 an especially strong/competitive year?
• Wow, Artemis was quite the era: sending a song to No. 2 on your 2022 YEC after originally dropping back in 2019. No one can match your dedication to Lindsey around here, and Amy's pretty nostalgic for me, since the Fallen hits were all over the radio/TV back in the day (and teenage-me really liked that album overall)
• Although "Shinigami Eyes" didn't land quite as high on my YEC, I still have a lot of love for it, and I totally feel you when you mention getting lost in certain songs/how they have the power to wrap us up in different wild wonderful worlds for 3-4 minutes (an immersive experience). Kerli's definitely a throwback! Now I'm in the mood to give "Spirit Animal" a spin...

[flopho]

Yay very happy to see Grimes and especially Noah that high, the latter was one that I found through your charts and glad I did
The one thing I like more than Shinigami Eyes as a song is its music video! She knows how to deliver cool visuals.

[king_oxymoron]

Lots to love going into the top 10 - Baby, Beach House, 2 Die 4.. I'm REALLY big on Sooner or Later and had it been a single proper that would prob have been my highest Y&Y entry.

The ones I know in the top 10 mainly fall into the 'cute' rather than 'wow' category for me but I'm pleased to see Lights Off do so well!

[Tansike]

I am glad Grimes is serving us some cosmic hyperpop with her own touch, "Shinagami Eyes" is instantly recognizable in a world with the millions of songs being produced every week.Great #1, congratulations!

Ah, love what you had to say about Shinigami Eyes and I agree with every bit of it! She truly released a brilliant song with it, I just keep being "mad" that she never followed it up even a year later