Flopho's Best of 2022 (#15 - #11)

[Benjamin]

Woo for 'Sister Ray', 'Diva', Ojos Marrones' (great song!) and 'Alien Superstar '<3

[crystalphoenix]

• I owe you for bumping the "Sister Ray" thread last year and getting me hooked on it. Put Foxes back on my mind for the first time in a long time
• "Diva" really was a brilliant (highly-addictive) intro to Italo Pop
• "Alien Superstar" being this much higher than both "Break My Soul" and "Cuff It" is a bit hard to swallow, but I'm glad Bey landed something inside your Top 50

[Blondini]

Foxes song is good. Didn't know about the Prudence thing but it sounds OK.

[king_oxymoron]

Bad Life, How Long and Surrender My Heart all great picks and it's cool to see someone here charting Fender.
W.I.T.C.H is great, pleased to see that on a few charts. Sister Ray and Alien Superstar also slap.

[Thriller]

Priya Ragu deserves more love, two great songs from her there!

Sister Ray was a cute electrobop.

[Tansike]

Finally catching up!!

100. Lizzo - 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)
98. Charli XCX feat. Rina Sawayama - Beg For You
96. Grimes - Shinigami Eyes

Shinigami Eyes <3 <3 <3 Even just the single artwork alone is better than so many songs of 2022 IMO, then the video on mute would already make this Top10 probably, and then the song itself is just brilliant. Ok, I'm fangirling here, but I just adore this song and still do after tons of spins. A shame she never followed it up, 2022 could have been such a huge year for her.

88. Chanel - SloMo
86. Willow - curious/furious
80. Sigrid feat. Bring Me The Horizon - Bad Life
77. Panic! At The Disco - Don't Let The Light Go Out
76. Tove Lo - How Long
69. Alvan feat. Ahez - Fulenn

Thank you for also calling out Fulenn's live performance but yes I do think that's the main reason why it didn't do well with the results and well justified IMO.

68. Carly Rae Jepsen - Surrender My Heart
62. Noah Cyrus - I Just Want a Lover

I Just Want A Lover <3 I'd like to think I kinda started its success on our forum

58. Angčle - Bruxelles je t'aime
56. Foxes - Sister Ray
54. Miranda Lambert - If I Was a Cowboy
50. Avril Lavigne feat. YUNGBLUD - I'm a Mess
48. Maro - saudade, saudade
46. Ochman - River
45. Beyoncé - Alien Superstar

Alien Superstar is one of Beyoncé's most interesting and best songs ever IMO. I see why it's probably never going to be an actual single, but this deserves to be listened to by as many people as possible.

Always nice to see some love for Eurovision. Ochman's River did super well for me too, glad it clicked with you as well!

Spoiler!

Also, don't know her music, but Priya Ragu actually took vocal lessons from my partner xD

[flopho]

Diva is a mega bop, I enjoyed a lot of FdC songs but unfortunately not enough for them to sneak into my top 200 (along with "Saudade, Saudade" & "Amanha" I also loved "Como é bom esperar alguém", "Corpo de mulher", "Povo Pequenito" and "Dégrį.dź"), it was a very strong selection.

Prudence provides a high-quality (with layers and intricate sound textures) electronic pop

Agree that it was a strong selection. I hope this year's songs will grow on me after seeing them live.

Woo for 'Sister Ray', 'Diva', Ojos Marrones' (great song!) and 'Alien Superstar '<3

Finally some love for Ojos Marrones on here!

• I owe you for bumping the "Sister Ray" thread last year and getting me hooked on it. Put Foxes back on my mind for the first time in a long time
• "Diva" really was a brilliant (highly-addictive) intro to Italo Pop
• "Alien Superstar" being this much higher than both "Break My Soul" and "Cuff It" is a bit hard to swallow, but I'm glad Bey landed something inside your Top 50

I dunno why I completely ignored her output after Body Talk, she really knows how to deliver a catchy chorus. I'm also getting into 'Absolute' from her latest album right now.

Foxes song is good. Didn't know about the Prudence thing but it sounds OK.

Yay more Foxes love!

Bad Life, How Long and Surrender My Heart all great picks and it's cool to see someone here charting Fender.
W.I.T.C.H is great, pleased to see that on a few charts. Sister Ray and Alien Superstar also slap.

Don't wanna spoil too much but there's more Sam coming up later

Priya Ragu deserves more love, two great songs from her there!

Sister Ray was a cute electrobop.

Yep she does, especially Lockdown had massive hit potential imo

Finally catching up!!

100. Lizzo - 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)
98. Charli XCX feat. Rina Sawayama - Beg For You
96. Grimes - Shinigami Eyes

Shinigami Eyes <3 <3 <3 Even just the single artwork alone is better than so many songs of 2022 IMO, then the video on mute would already make this Top10 probably, and then the song itself is just brilliant. Ok, I'm fangirling here, but I just adore this song and still do after tons of spins. A shame she never followed it up, 2022 could have been such a huge year for her.

88. Chanel - SloMo
86. Willow - curious/furious
80. Sigrid feat. Bring Me The Horizon - Bad Life
77. Panic! At The Disco - Don't Let The Light Go Out
76. Tove Lo - How Long
69. Alvan feat. Ahez - Fulenn

Thank you for also calling out Fulenn's live performance but yes I do think that's the main reason why it didn't do well with the results and well justified IMO.

68. Carly Rae Jepsen - Surrender My Heart
62. Noah Cyrus - I Just Want a Lover

I Just Want A Lover <3 I'd like to think I kinda started its success on our forum

58. Angčle - Bruxelles je t'aime
56. Foxes - Sister Ray
54. Miranda Lambert - If I Was a Cowboy
50. Avril Lavigne feat. YUNGBLUD - I'm a Mess
48. Maro - saudade, saudade
46. Ochman - River
45. Beyoncé - Alien Superstar

Alien Superstar is one of Beyoncé's most interesting and best songs ever IMO. I see why it's probably never going to be an actual single, but this deserves to be listened to by as many people as possible.

Always nice to see some love for Eurovision. Ochman's River did super well for me too, glad it clicked with you as well!

Spoiler!

Also, don't know her music, but Priya Ragu actually took vocal lessons from my partner xD

I'm glad you mention it, the Shinigami Eyes video is absolutely amazing for me too! Maybe should've done a 'Best Music Videos' too cause she would def be in the Top 3 with that.

And to the last thing you mentioned, OMG REALLY? That must be one of the biggest flexes I've read on this forum, that's amazing! He seems to have done a pretty good job then judging from the few performances I've seen so far as for her music, to be completely honest I'm not sure if you would be into her music, but maybe listen to the 'Lockdown' chorus first to sorta get an idea. In my opinion, her hooks tend to be a bit better than her verses cause I'm not the biggest fan of her 'rapping' parts, in both songs it's a bit clunky at least for me personally.

[flopho]

40. Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal - B.O.T.A.

When this came out, I immediately liked it but thought it was gonna get annoying really quickly. Surprsingly, even though I've heard it many times, not only on my Spotify but also radios/etc. it's still an enjoyable song for me. Didn't expect it to become such a big hit in the UK and some other European countries

39. Younčs feat. TIF - Harraga

Even more powerful than the song itself is the music video imo, especially towards the end

38. COSBY - Calling Out

Most of the times I tend to dislike these kind of 'stereotypically 80s' inspired songs like this one...guess this is one of the lucky exceptions. I totally understand that some people are tired of this sound, but this one somehow clicked with me. The bridge is the best part here

37. Emeli Sandé - There Isn't Much

Easily one of Emeli's best singles imo, surprised it didn't do more for her

36. Janie - Petite blonde

A 2020 song that I listened to a lot in 2021 and 2022 in a countdown I'm presenting in 2023, fascinating. Happy that this performed well in the FSC

35. Cornelia Jakobs - Hold Me Closer

The imperfect vocals is what makes this song unique for me (and for many others I assume), if it wasn't for them I would probably enjoy this much less

34. Tanxugueiras - Pano Corado

This Galician 'modern folk' group really had a great year on my charts with their fourth entry now, 'Pano Corado' is the highest placement for them

33. RAYE - Black Mascara

This song is definitely one of the biggest growers of last year for me. Initially disliked it when I saw it on other charts, but its exceptional structure is what eventually got me. I also really love the 'Once you see my slick eyeliner..blend into my black designer...bags under my eyes' line

32. Hemlocke Springs - Girlfriend

Now I definitely don't expect anybody to check any of the songs they don't know here lmao, but I would really recommend checking at least just the bridge of this one, starting around 1:25 in the music video. It's what made this song go semi-viral and I totally understand why. Comparisons to Kate Bush, Marina and Jack Stauber were made because of it, I'm not sure if I agree 100%, but it's definitely an infectious melody (and especially bridge!!)

31. Merilin Mälk - Little Girl

Another Eurovision preselection track, this time from Estonia. And another one that I pretty much abandoned after May. Still enjoy it but probably overplayed it a bit

30. Sigrid - It Gets Dark

I'm movin' at the speed of light, I had to go
But now I know
It gets dark so I can see the stars

29. Aidan - Naħseb Fik

Another cool FSC find, definitely one of the songs of the summer for me and considerably better than what he presented at MESC 2022

28. SHIMA feat. Sumire - Conman

Not always a fan of mixing English and another language in the chorus, but I think it's really well done here

27. Sigrid - Burning Bridges

Second Sigrid song in this batch and sixth entry overall. Listened to it a lot both in 2021 and 2022

26. SG Lewis - Something About Your Love

Might be a bit repetitive for some but the brilliant production makes up for it, glad I found this one through the personal chart section. Excited for his album that is about to be released

[heppolo]

"Little Girl" was quite underrated by Estonia, it's a very accessible timeless pop tune (as if it could have been released any year between 2000s and 2020s).
Both Sigrid songs are really well-made, I feel like the only thing that stands between her and mainstream popularity is unfortunately the tone of her voice which is closer to an acquired taste, you either love it or hate it.
"Petite Blonde" is the kind of French pop I love.
"Hold Me Closer" would have had a shot at winning the whole damn thing in any other edition w/o a clear favourite. I could have envisioned the whole confetti and pyro curtain towards the final chorus and the end credits rolling

[crystalphoenix]

I dunno why I completely ignored her output after Body Talk, she really knows how to deliver a catchy chorus. I'm also getting into 'Absolute' from her latest album right now.

OoOh, another quality pick, thanks! Looks like it never got a proper video, shame.

• Love that "Black Mascara" grew on you enough to rank nearly-Top 30 here! Like you mentioned over in mykka's weekly chart thread, it'd be great if the success of "Escapism" helped more people (re)discover this gem this year (kind of like P!nk's "Who Knew" after "U + Ur Hand" blew up, or a "Truth Hurts"/"Good As Hell" scenario)
• "Girlfriend" is a tad too...quirky to get a ton of play from me, but it's an interesting find, and the video's extremely-engaging/entertaining/creative on (what I assume was) a very-low budget
• Ha, I'm one of those who finds "Something About Your Love" just a biiit too repetitive/stretched out, but it still managed to get me interested in SG

[Blondini]

Burning Bridges is a great track.

[JSparksFan]

"W.I.T.C.H." is awesome stuff. One of the best FSC 2022 submissions. "Bad Habit" is good. I enjoy "Diva". I love "Alien Superstar". Ranked it similarly, too.

The big selling point of "Hold Me Closer" is actually its lyrics for me!

[Benjamin]

'Black Mascara.' is a good song! I think it's much better than 'Escapism.'
A shame it wasn't as big of a hit.

[flopho]

"Little Girl" was quite underrated by Estonia, it's a very accessible timeless pop tune (as if it could have been released any year between 2000s and 2020s).
Both Sigrid songs are really well-made, I feel like the only thing that stands between her and mainstream popularity is unfortunately the tone of her voice which is closer to an acquired taste, you either love it or hate it.
"Petite Blonde" is the kind of French pop I love.
"Hold Me Closer" would have had a shot at winning the whole damn thing in any other edition w/o a clear favourite. I could have envisioned the whole confetti and pyro curtain towards the final chorus and the end credits rolling

Yeah I love Sigrid's tone but understand that some might not be here for it.
I can totally see that too tbh, I feel like some people have a Sweden bias and don't vote for them even if they like the song.

OoOh, another quality pick, thanks! Looks like it never got a proper video, shame.

• Love that "Black Mascara" grew on you enough to rank nearly-Top 30 here! Like you mentioned over in mykka's weekly chart thread, it'd be great if the success of "Escapism" helped more people (re)discover this gem this year (kind of like P!nk's "Who Knew" after "U + Ur Hand" blew up, or a "Truth Hurts"/"Good As Hell" scenario)
• "Girlfriend" is a tad too...quirky to get a ton of play from me, but it's an interesting find, and the video's extremely-engaging/entertaining/creative on (what I assume was) a very-low budget
• Ha, I'm one of those who finds "Something About Your Love" just a biiit too repetitive/stretched out, but it still managed to get me interested in SG

I totally get what you mean with the quirkiness. I must say I'm probably a bit biased with her, as I've been following her for quite a while now. I don't have TikTok but occasionally check her profile (on my laptop, cause I don't think you can open tiktoks without having the app on the phone) and it's been fun to see her journey from the release of Gimme All Your Luv to this, and then the music video, etc. I gotta be honest here, when I first saw the video I thought 'wow...she really has no budget huh'..I didn't really like it but understood that it's difficult without label support. But it grew on me and the quirk won me over

In the meantime, she actually got signed by a record label and released her next music video, 'Stranger Danger'. Funnily enough, I really like the video for that one but not feeling the song as much as Girlfriend, it's growing on me though. I'm very excited for her future releases, there's a demo that she shared called 'Sever the Blight' (it's on youtube) and that sounds like it has a lot of potential, so that might be the next Hemlocke hit song on my chart. (it does need some extra mixing, etc though I guess)

Burning Bridges is a great track.

Agree, the whole album was great imo

"W.I.T.C.H." is awesome stuff. One of the best FSC 2022 submissions. "Bad Habit" is good. I enjoy "Diva". I love "Alien Superstar". Ranked it similarly, too.

The big selling point of "Hold Me Closer" is actually its lyrics for me!

Very fair point, I agree actually; lyrics > vocals > the song itself (although the whole thing as a package is great obvs)

'Black Mascara.' is a good song! I think it's much better than 'Escapism.'
A shame it wasn't as big of a hit.

A shame indeed. I really love both, but Escapism got the higher placement on here. (still to come)

[flopho]

25. The Marķas - Un Millón

Another ukmix personal chart section find, this time from heppolo's chart. Probably the most 'sensual' song of 2022 for me personally lmao. According to wikipedia, their genres are mainly indie and psychedelic although this track is more latin pop/reggaeton. Oh and not that it matters for the song but Maria Zardoya looks like a goddess in the music video

24. Nell Widmer - La Flemme

The highest charting French song this year is from Nell Widmer. 'La Flemme' appeared in the second season of Emily in Paris and while I haven't seen the series, I can totally picture myself listening to this with my headphones on while walking through the streets of Paris

23. I Prevail - Bad Things

Hard rock and metal(core) is a genre that is pretty rare on here and I'm sorry for that! However this track caught my attention immediately with its catchy chorus, kinda reminiscent of Linkin Park (pls don't crucify me if this is an inaccurate comparison )

22. Tove Lo - Grapefruit

Another track that was an instant banger for me. Really appreciate her sharing something that is obviously very personal for her, and she finds the perfect words to describe it + the music video goes well with the vibe of the song

21. Rina Sawayama - Hold The Girl

The first of three Rina tracks in my Top 30. This song actually took a while to really click with me. Instantly found it catchy but somehow wasn't impressed by it. The last chorus in particular gave me 2000s Eurovision vibes and not in a good way...nowadays I want to slap my past self for feeling like that it's actually the last chorus and especially the choir part that I enjoy the most

20. The Aces - Girls Make Me Wanna Die

This indie pop band delivered a great anthem for young queer love

19. Omar Apollo - Evergreen (You Didn't Deserve Me At All)

Evergreen was one of 2022's viral TikTok hits, and while many like to hate on that platform I'm glad they're responsible for giving songs like this a chance to shine. However, that also has its downsides, with several people reporting that (especially young) 'fans' bought tickets for his show, filmed themselves during the viral part (the bridge, which admittedly is indeed stunning) and then left the concert well, Omar's getting their money anyway, but must be kinda annoying for him. While there's no other song by him I rate as highly as Evergreen I'm sure his other stuff isn't so boring that you have to leave the show

18. Rosalķa - Despechį

This genre in general is very hit and miss for me, but this was an absolute hit. Remember playing it like seven or eight times after the first listen, that's how addicting it was. She had a massive year and I'm happy for her, but not sure how to feel about her upcoming release in English..but I'll wait with my scepticism until I hear it

17. Ayra Starr - Rush

There have been some huge Afrobeat smash hits lately, not only achieving success in Africa but also in the UK, US and other markets. So far there hasn't been a lot from that genre that blew me away, well at least until I heard this song. Rush delivers a catchy and smooth sounding chorus, and it's still on my main playlist! So far this didn't blow up outside African markets but maybe 2023 will be her year

16. Tove Lo - No One Dies From Love

No One Dies From Love is Tove's highest charting song on here, and not only is it a great pop track, the video tells a cool story too and is possibly her best one yet

[JSparksFan]

"Hold the Girl" had to grow on me as well. Now it's my second-most-played song from her. The music video was one of the best of 2022 for me as well.

[heppolo]

"Girls Make Me Wanna Die" is quite a fun jam despite what the title might suggest.
"Grapefruit" goes deep and that synth hook is irresistible.
Great to see "Un Millon" so high.

[Blondini]

Why Tove gets ignored by radio i'll never know. But they ignore Carly Rae, too so i shouldn't be surprised.

[heppolo]

Why Tove gets ignored by radio i'll never know. But they ignore Carly Rae, too so i shouldn't be surprised.

they should beg the major label to engineer a "grassroots" viral tiktok moment for them, there's no other way these days unfortunately

[crystalphoenix]

I totally get what you mean with the quirkiness. I must say I'm probably a bit biased with her, as I've been following her for quite a while now. I don't have TikTok but occasionally check her profile (on my laptop, cause I don't think you can open tiktoks without having the app on the phone) and it's been fun to see her journey from the release of Gimme All Your Luv to this, and then the music video, etc. I gotta be honest here, when I first saw the video I thought 'wow...she really has no budget huh'..I didn't really like it but understood that it's difficult without label support. But it grew on me and the quirk won me over

In the meantime, she actually got signed by a record label and released her next music video, 'Stranger Danger'. Funnily enough, I really like the video for that one but not feeling the song as much as Girlfriend, it's growing on me though. I'm very excited for her future releases, there's a demo that she shared called 'Sever the Blight' (it's on youtube) and that sounds like it has a lot of potential, so that might be the next Hemlocke hit song on my chart. (it does need some extra mixing, etc though I guess)

Nice, I didn't know you had so much history with Hemlocke! I'm glad "Girlfriend" led to bigger things for her (and I was definitely too quick to write-off the song's replayability, since it's been on my mind a lot this week). "secretly I'm aiming for a rhythm that exceeds MY EXPECTATIONS...."

• "Hold The Girl" falling JUST short of your Top 20 hurts my heart a bit, but that's still an impressive result for a song you had mixed feelings about at first. Also: it's wild to see you use a Eurovision comparison as an insult, since I think of you as one of UKMIX's biggest Eurovision stans
• Double Tove! "Grapefruit" wound up slightly lower than "No One Dies From Love" on my Year-End Countdown too, but I'd have a tough time choosing between them now. Both among her all-time-best
• I owe your chart for "Girls Make Me Wanna Die" (nearly made my Top 50), so thanks again for that!

[Benjamin]

Rosalķa and Omar <3 !!

[king_oxymoron]

Yay for Cornelia, RAYE and Sigrid! It Gets Dark isn't one of my favourites of hers but I love Burning Bridges
Big up SG Lewis, Rina and both the Tove entries, what a year it's been for her!

[flopho]

Ahh classic flopho, starting something and finishing it way too late!

"Hold the Girl" had to grow on me as well. Now it's my second-most-played song from her. The music video was one of the best of 2022 for me as well.

Interesting to hear that it was the same for you, what's your most played Rina track?

"Girls Make Me Wanna Die" is quite a fun jam despite what the title might suggest.
"Grapefruit" goes deep and that synth hook is irresistible.
Great to see "Un Millon" so high.

Very happy that I found Un Millon on your chart, such a catchy track.

Why Tove gets ignored by radio i'll never know. But they ignore Carly Rae, too so i shouldn't be surprised.

Interestingly 2 Die 4 got some airplay over here I think..my least favorite DF song though

Nice, I didn't know you had so much history with Hemlocke! I'm glad "Girlfriend" led to bigger things for her (and I was definitely too quick to write-off the song's replayability, since it's been on my mind a lot this week). "secretly I'm aiming for a rhythm that exceeds MY EXPECTATIONS...."

• "Hold The Girl" falling JUST short of your Top 20 hurts my heart a bit, but that's still an impressive result for a song you had mixed feelings about at first. Also: it's wild to see you use a Eurovision comparison as an insult, since I think of you as one of UKMIX's biggest Eurovision stans
• Double Tove! "Grapefruit" wound up slightly lower than "No One Dies From Love" on my Year-End Countdown too, but I'd have a tough time choosing between them now. Both among her all-time-best
• I owe your chart for "Girls Make Me Wanna Die" (nearly made my Top 50), so thanks again for that!

Aww yeah HTG was close..hope the two Rina songs in the Top 15 make up for it though! Haha I am, but I really don't like the majority of 00s Eurovision cause it was mostly an absolute cheesefest lmfao

Rosalķa and Omar <3 !!

I'm very excited for Omar's '3 Boys' that he apparently will drop soon

Yay for Cornelia, RAYE and Sigrid! It Gets Dark isn't one of my favourites of hers but I love Burning Bridges
Big up SG Lewis, Rina and both the Tove entries, what a year it's been for her!

Glad you like these and Tove had a great 2022 indeed, and looks she will be in the 2023 list as well as I'm really enjoying 'Borderline' atm!

[flopho]

15. Confidence Man - Holiday

Here's another entry that I found through ukmix, this time thanks to blondini's personal charts. Still remember how I instantly added it to my playlist and had to play it like six or seven times because it was so addicting! An incredibe chorus and strong verses too, and I love that they seem like they don't take themselves too seriously in their videos

14. Miranda Lambert - Waxahachie

Already wrote this earlier, Miranda isn't the huge force on my charts that she used to be, but this track from her album 'Palomino' immediately clicked with me. The chorus just has something timeless about it & this was one of my most played tracks of the first half of 2022. Apparently some Waxahachians on Twitter were annoyed by this song with comments like 'uhm of course we're still on 35?? ' ...I would be honoured if Miranda would mention my city in her lyrics, unfortunately its pronunciation is not as melodic as 'Waxahachie'

13. Rina Sawayama - Hurricanes

Many people pointed out that this is very 00s Kelly C and I agree, and it's part of why I enjoy this song so much. It manages to be nostalgic without sounding dated or too imitative in my opinion and she gives it her own personal touch + the 'running running, running into Hurricanes' part just makes it an incredibly strong chorus. The verses could be a bit better imo but they don't make this any less great

12. Sofia Carson - It's Only Love, Nobody Dies

Even I am a little surprised to see this song so high but what can I say, it was really addicting for me for several weeks/months. Gotta admit that I'm not very familiar with her work (however she did make a brief appearance on my charts with 'Rotten To The Core' as part of the Descendants ) and I think her other single 'Come Back Home' had way more commercial success than this, but yeah...this is a pretty perfect pop song in my eyes.

The video is really disappointing though and feels like a car ad in some parts

11. MisterWives - Easy

I definitely didn't expect this band to come up on my radar last year after they had a very successful 2014/2015 on my charts with Reflections and Our Own House. Still haven't heard their 2017 album to this day, but maybe I should if there's anything that comes close to this!
Found this both through ukmix and a Youtube personal chart video, and the lyric 'it gets easier..but it's not easy' immediately got stuck in my head, probably one of the most impactful lyrics of 2022 for me personally.

It's really difficult for me to understand why a label would drop a band with this much potential, but their loss I guess..maybe this will result in them having more artistic freedom and giving us even more great songs as this one!

[JSparksFan]

"Easy" is brilliant. The lyric you singled out is my favourite part, too. It's like an uplifting, possibly self-convincing chant.

Interesting to hear that it was the same for you, what's your most played Rina track?

"XS"!