My Current Favourite Songs

Happy New Year! Today I’ll be sharing with you what I’m listening to non-stop at the moment to celebrate 2021.

Taylor Swift - Willow

Swift’s ninth studio album, "Evermore", was a complete surprise for fans of the pop-star, including me! She had only released previous album "Folklore" 6 months prior, which explored genres she had previously avoided like indie and alternative. Evermore’s first single, Willow, is an indie/folk song that compares life to a willow tree and has hints of melancholy. It’s romantic, too, with lyrics such as “Wherever you stray, I follow” and “I’m begging for you to take my hand” - and I’m always a fan of love songs! It’s different from her past chart hits, like “Blank Space” or "Look What You Made Me Do”, but that’s exactly what you’d expect from Taylor, who’s always creating new ideas and making surprise releases.

Taylor Swift at the iHeart Radio Awards in 2019.

Miley Cyrus ft Dua Lipa - Prisoner

These two pop princesses have surprisingly never collaborated before, but I’m so glad they did. Their voices work so beautifully together - with Miley’s raspy tone dominating the song, but Dua still adding her classic pop flair to the hit. Prisoner comes from Cyrus’ seventh album, "Plastic Hearts", which explores her rock roots. Straying far from her usual genre of pop, Miley really impressed me on this record! “Prisoner” has been described as a perfect blend of her and Lipa’s styles, and I would have to agree. The music video features the two artists driving around on a party bus, covered in what looks like blood, showing their wild sides. The song has proved to be a hit on worldwide charts and I personally would love to see them collaborate on another song!

Miley Cyrus at the Met Gala in 2019.

MARINA - Man’s World

MARINA is who I would consider an underrated yet staple talent in the music industry - providing us with pop bangers like “Primadonna” and “How To Be a Heartbreaker”, but also vulnerability and truth in her latest release, “Man’s World”. The song focuses on inequality, climate change and feminism - with the main lyric being “I don’t wanna live in a man’s world anymore”, referencing the sexism women face on a daily basis. She highlights how women and men live in completely different worlds with the challenges they face, but also how “Mother Nature’s dying” due to our actions. MARINA covers these issues exquisitely, in a way many other artists wouldn’t due to the taboo nature of them. It’ll definitely be interesting to see what other topics MARINA covers in her upcoming album, and I’ll be listening for sure!

MARINA performing in Berlin in 2012.

Ariana Grande - POV

Grande’s sixth studio album, "Positions", was released a couple months ago now, but one song from it has stuck in my head since its debut - and that’s POV. Another timeless love song, POV explores themes of adoration, happiness and self-love with lyrics like “I wanna love me the way that you love me” and “I’d love to see me from your point of view”. Ariana takes a modern twist on a romantic ballad, focusing on how she wants to love herself rather than how she wants to love her partner. With her recent engagement to real estate agent Dalton Gomez, it’s clear that this song is referencing her now fiancé. POV adds a personal touch to an otherwise generic pop/R&B album, and has in turn became a TikTok trend with people sharing themselves at their best - and their worst. The melody and her stunning vocals make a dreamy track, perfect for a shower singalong.

Ariana Grande performing in London in 2018.

(Images from Creative Commons)