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Hi everybody, and welcome to a new edition of Something Different Sunday, where I talk about something different than books!
Today, I want to talk about my favorite songs of 2018. I even put them in a handy top 20 list, counting down from 20 to number one, because I felt like it…
Now, a little disclaimer first. If you’ve been following my blog for a while you will know that A) I’ve always loved music and have a very wide taste in music, ranging from musicals and pop to heavy rock and metal and pretty much any genre you can imagine and B) I have however listened to little else but k-pop for the last year or two. This list below represents my tastes of 2018 and as such, has quite a lot of k-pop in it, but not only k-pop. I think it’s still a pretty varied list, though my love of rock feels pretty absent. So in 2019 I’m looking to expand a bit more again and actively try to discover some new rock, punk and metal artists to love, though it’s safe to say k-pop also has a permanent spot in my heart and playlist in the future.
Also, I tried not to have any double artists in this list (unless it’s a collaboration), because if I didn’t have this rule, there would be songs by like 3-4 artists because I’m just a little obsessive like that 🙂
Without further ado, here’s my top twenty 2018 songs!
20. Stray kids – voices
“No more, no more, don’t try to change me
No voice, no voice, don’t make me dizzy anymore
Ya, cut the useless thoughts, do everything as you like
Ya, don’t get fooled, you know they’re wrong, please do it your way”
I’m going against my own rules from the get go (I’m a rebel like that) and have one double artist in this top 20, because if 2018 was anything, it was the year of Stray Kids and they deserve a double mention in my top 20. I must have listened to Voices a million times this year, and watched the performance video just as much because I adore the choreography.
19. Marianas Trench – I Knew You When
“I thought time was supposed to heal,
It don’t do shit but keep you feelin’
Older, older”
I discovered Marianas Trench last year and fell in love, so when I heard they released a new song this year I immediately listened to it non-stop for hours. And I’m not even close to tired of listening to it yet, so that says a lot.
18. Pentagon – shine
“I’m a loser who loves you
Yes, I’m a misery
To you, I’m a nuisance, I’m an outsider
But in this world, I only need you”
I fell in love with this song about 2-3 months AFTER half the world already fell in love with it, but it doesn’t matter because I LOVE this happy, geeky song so much now and it never fails to bring a smile to my face.
17. Against The Current – Strangers Again
“I can’t stand it when you touch me like that
‘Cause it just reminds me of the nights that I spent
Telling myself it was fine
But now I’m over that”
Though I haven’t really fallen in love with Against The Current’s other new songs just yet (though I have no doubt I will), this song immediately grabbed my heart.
16. Dua Lipa and BlackPink – Kiss and Make Up
“Touch me like you touch nobody
Put your hands all up on me
Tired of hearing sorry
Kiss and make, kiss, kiss and make up”
I love Dua Lipa. I love BlackPink. This collaboration was everything I could have wanted and makes me want to dance.
15. Zayn ft Timbaland – Too Much
“I guess I want too much (too much)
I just want love and lust
You just can’t love me back (yeah)
That’s why I need a touch”
I think Zayn is one of those artists that crept up on me. I don’t know all of his songs or actively seek them out, but I still fall in love with every song of his I hear. This collab with Timbaland is no exception.
14. Hamilton – First Burn
“Heaven forbid someone whisper
“He’s part of some scheme”
Your enemy whispers
So you have to scream”
Just when I thought I was finally over my Hamilton obsession, they release this version of First Burn and I. AM. OBSESSED. AGAIN.
13. Steve Aoki ft BTS – Waste It On Me
“Don’t you think we got another season
That come after spring
I wanna be your summer
I wanna be your wave
Treat me like a comma
And I’ll take you to a new phrase”
Though I didn’t love this song at first, it really grew on me bit by bit and now I’m in love. Plus, that video. Ken Jeong is awesome, okay?
12. Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry
“Right now, I’m in a state of mind
I wanna be in, like, all the time
Ain’t got no tears left to cry
So I’m pickin’ it up, pickin’ it up
I’m lovin’, I’m livin’, I’m pickin’ it up”
2018 was really the year for Ariana Grande. I had trouble picking my favorite song by her, because there were so many masterpieces: God is a Woman, Thank U Next or Breathin’ all came to mind, but in the end I went with No Tears Left To Cry because I love the empowering message and the fact that this song feels like it’s multiple songs in one.
11. Bring Me The Horizon – Mantra
“Before the truth will set you free, it will piss you off
Before you find a place to be, you’re gonna lose the plot”
It’s the only heavier song on this list, which is a bit surprising in itself, since I usually love heavier rock music, but I’m okay with it because I do love this song. And to think I didn’t love it at first either…
10. Troye Sivan ft Ariana Grande – Dance To This
“Oh, yeah, under the kitchen lights
You still look like dynamite
And I wanna end up on you
Oh, don’t need no place to go
Just put on the radio
You know what I wanna do”
My favorite 2018 Troye song, definitely. The lyrics. The video. Adding Ariana to the song. It’s just pure awesomeness.
9. The Rose – Baby
“I don’t wanna hold you back
With trembling eyes,
Baby, don’t wait for me to speak first
I don’t wanna hold you back…”
The Rose is one of my favorite discoveries of the year and Baby has not only become one of my favorite songs of 2018, but of all time…
8. Monsta X – Jealousy
“The way I’m reacting
You’re actually enjoying this
You’re tapping on my shoulder
More as if you’re showing off ha ha funny”
Oh man, picking my favorite Monsta X song of 2018 was the most difficult out of creating this list, because they are so good and every single one of their songs is a bop. But if I HAD to choose, I’d go with Jealousy as my favorite.I think it’s the “swagging, swagging” part to be honest 🙂
7. Seventeen – Thanks
“My heart’s overflowing with these clichĂ©d words
But I can’t say them because I’m worried
I’m searching for words better than “thanks”
I can’t just say “thanks””
2018 introduced me to Seventeen and did so with this song. I immediately fell in love with this little piece of art. It speaks to me and the choreo is just GORGEOUS.
6. NCT U – Boss
“Now close your eyes and freely breathe in
My world that will be shown before you
You’re enough as you are
You’re beautiful yeah”
Oh man, NCT is another one of those groups with so many amazing songs to choose from, but here the choice was a little simpler, because Boss has been the song to keep me going and motivated for MONTHS.
5. Panic! At The Disco – Say Amen (Saturday Night)
“And if I try to change my life one more day
There would be nobody else to save
And I can’t change into a person I don’t wanna be, so
Oh, it’s Saturday night, yeah”
I was doubting big time between Say Amen or High Hopes, both Panic! songs I loved this year, but in the end Say Amen was the first song I heard of the new album and the first to get me excited about new Panic! music. Plus, this music video is just in a league of its’ own…
4. BlackPink – Ddu-Du Ddu-Du
“Whether you like me or hate me or whatever anyone says
When the bass drop it’s another banger”
FINALLY, a BlackPink comeback, AND. IT. WAS. FIRE. It’s so catchy and fun and these girls are such gorgeous queens.
3. Cheat Codes and Little Mix – Only You
“Once upon a time we had it all
Somewhere down the line we went and lost it
One brick at a time we watched it fall
I’m broken here tonight and darling, no one else can fix me
Only you, only you”
I fell in love with this song just ten seconds in and my love has not faded. Something about this song feels magical to me, like anything is possible. Plus the video with the girl falling in love with a mermaid is just wow <3
2. BTS – Idol
“Keep on chit-chatting, saying this and that
I do what I do, so you do you
You can’t stop me lovin’ myself”
It’s no secret I’m a BTS fan, but this song couldn’t have been released at a better time. This year, I was struggling with some toxicity in my environment that really got to me. And then BTS released a song, and an album, that’s all about loving yourself and it’s like they read my mind and gave me just what I needed to get myself together. Thanks, BTS.
1. Stray Kids – I Am You
“You filled the void in me
You can fill the void in me
Just you being by my side
Helps me a lot…”
Aww man, Stray Kids. They are really the band of my 2018, so it’s only fitting they got the number one spot. Just like BTS, they somehow released all songs that spoke to me and helped me this year and I can’t be more thankful. This top 20 could have easily been 75% Stray Kids, but I’ll save that for another post someday, maybe. I chose I Am You to be my number one, because it’s a song that radiates hope and love and magic and I love how it can be interpreted in so many ways. It can be a song about friendship and it can just as easily be about romantic love. But a way I like to interpret it as well is as a song about the bond between an artist and their fans and about how music can become such a big part of your life and lift you up and help you and that even though you don’t know the artists personally, they can still write songs that make you feel understood and seen and in that way always be with you…
I love your list! I had never listened to Only You before, but I’m definitely adding it to my playlist now. I’m also going to make a list of my favorite songs of the year, and it’s probably going to be 80% K-pop. I’m not mad about it, because that simply represents the fact that I listened to K-pop for the majority of the year. I think Voices by Stray Kids will also be on my list. Or maybe Hellevator or District 9. Those 3 songs always speak to me, and I can listen to them again and again.
Fun post! I need to check out more k-pop, but I tend to like what I do hear!! I really enjoy MARIANAS TRENCH – I didn’t know they had a new song out. I need to listen to them more. LOL Also, I still need Panic’s new album, but Say Amen is a great song. I love them too.
-Lauren
Yay for the Marianas Trench and Panic! love 🙂