It has been a strange old year for music in the charts, 2018, don’t you think? Cardi B has become an unstoppable force, while Drake cemented himself as one of the biggest rappers in the world. While artists like the late Mac Millar and troubled Demi Lovato put out quite hard-to-listen to music, given the tracks subject matter and what the artists themselves were going through in their real lives. In this post therefore, DotCom Magazine have put together our list of the five best songs of the year. It may not be your top five, but we hope you can see why we singled out these tracks.
Ariana Grande – No Tears Left to Cry
This song has one of the most memorable false starts and misleading intros of the year. From the first few seconds, you think it’s going to be another dark and downtempo track and given what happened in May 2017 at her Manchester gig, you’d forgive Ariana for that. However, after she’s just told us that she’s basically all cried out, in comes a nice up-tempo and quicker pace. It is a song that is important for fans of Ariana and people in general, about using music as a way of healing. We could discuss how amazing her vocals are, but we’re guessing if you’re an Ariana fan reading this, you’ll already agree on that point.
Childish Gambino – This is America
Childish Gambino’s year was another good one and dropped this rather pointed, but amazing track the same weekend he was hosting Saturday Night Live and about five days before he was on the big screen in Solo: A Star Wars Story as Lando Calrissian. He subsequently dissed that film, but all anyone will remember of 2018 when it comes to Childish Gambino is this song and its lyrical finger pointing directly at America’s issue with racially-motivated violence. As spellbinding and remarkable as it is unnerving.
Drake – God’s Plan
Sticking with hip-hop for the moment, it would be ridiculous to mention 2018 without mentioning Drake. There’s a few songs we could have picked out but we opted for this pompous and ridiculously catchy one. What do we like about this? It’s just so Drake. If you don’t like Drake, you’re not going to be won over by God’s Plan. But we don’t even really think that Drake will care much about that to be perfectly honest. In a song that he suggests his success is an act of God, he also mentions that he only loves his mom. Bless!
Mac Miller – Self Care
You’d be hard pressed to not see the depressing connection between what actually happened and his untimely death and the message he was intending to get across with Self Care. Mac Miller’s track eerily seems to foretell of his imminent passing and is a cautionary tale of getting stuck way too deep when you’re trying to find some inner peace. However, the biggest takeaway is the fact that he lost his battle and that screams, hopefully, out to even just some people to look beyond their vices for salvation.
Demi Lovato – Sober
This is probably the most intense encapsulation of how badly addiction can drive you into situations you’d never imagine you’d be part of without. It almost sounds like an apology in song. It’s made all the more poignant and cutting because of how her year turned out with her ending up in hospital following a suspected heroin overdose and then subsequently ending up in rehab.
