As the holiday season approaches, more and more artists are releasing great new music each week. If you’re tired of hearing the same songs played over and over again on the radio, check out a few of these hidden gems on Spotify or YouTube.
1. All Night by Steve Aoki and Lauren Jauregui
Steve Aoki and Lauren Jauregui (from Fifth Harmony) teamed up to produce this catchy dance track that rightfully should be played all night. It’s a combination of a club and a love song, perfect for when you’re getting ready to go out with your friends and spot someone new from across the room who you can’t take your eyes off of.
2. Strangers by Sigrid
Upcoming Norwegian singer Sigrid has been listed as one of the top 10 New Artists You Need to Know by Rolling Stone and has recently released an incredible new single, “Strangers.” The song is a retrospective look at a romanticized relationship that is not as perfect as it seems. The singer croons about two lovers only wanting each other “to forget [they’re] alone,” comparing the relationship to the ending credits of a movie when reality comes back and the magic is over.
3. Darkside by Ty Dolla $ign & Future feat. Kiiara
Hip-hop stars Ty Dolla $ign and Future recently collaborated with electropop singer, Kiiara, for a song off of Will Smith’s new Netflix movie, Bright. Kiiara’s low register sounds haunting throughout the chorus, accompanied by Ty Dolla $ign and Future’s lonely verses about who is going to be there for them when everything seems hopeless. For days when you are inexplicably sad or it’s rainy and gray outside, “Darkside” is a great song to curl up to under warm blankets with a good book.
4. Just A Dream by Kurt Hugo Schneider, Christina Grimmie, Sam Tsui
Although this cover of Nelly’s hit single was recorded, filmed, and produced almost seven years ago, it has recently been uploaded to Spotify for many to stream and enjoy. Although what was finished of Christina Grimmie’s final music projects have been released slowly posthumously, it still brings nostalgia to hear her strong and beautiful voice once again since her devastating death last June. The Schneider brothers are well known for recording mashups of covers with celebrity friends and filming aesthetically pleasing music videos, and this particular cover definitely does not disappoint.
Here are a couple of bonus songs to get you ready for Winter break and the upcoming holidays!
5. Mistletoe by Justin Bieber
Regardless of where you stand on the Bieber Fever that impacted the nation earlier this decade, “Mistletoe” is one of the best songs to get you in the holiday spirit! The song was released in late 2011 (if you need another reminder of how old we have become) and in an interview with MTV News, Bieber commented, “[The song is] really catchy…It’s something that I feel like they’re going to be singing every Christmas.” He certainly wasn’t wrong.
6. All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey
It is universally acknowledged that this song is “The Christmas Song.” Every holiday season since its release back in 1994 (another reminder of how old we have become!), the song reappears back on the charts and becomes the most played Christmas song during the season. Even after the technical fiasco during last year’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Eve show that severely impaired Mariah Carey’s performance, the song still holds its reign this season as Christmas’s national anthem.
I hope you enjoyed all of the above suggestions! You can find my Spotify playlist here, ready to help you get through the remaining few weeks until the long-awaited Winter Break. Happy listening!
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