The 15 Best Songs of 2022 So Far

Between Harry Styles holding the #1 spot hostage with “As It Was” and Kate Bush experiencing a mindblowing resurgence with “Running Up That Hill” thanks to Stranger Things, music has been all over the place in 2022. With TikTok continuing to intensify its dominance and uncharacteristically muted returns from some of our biggest stars, it truly has been an odd year in music. Nonetheless, there will always be records that rise above the rest. Here are the 15 best songs of 2022 so far:

15. “Holding Back” (BANKS)

Banks has been delivering the most magnetic alternative electropop confections since Goddess back in 2014. With “Holding Back,” the third single from her fourth album Serpentina, the enigmatic artist proves that she truly has perfected her formula. A raucous choir of distorted vocals ushers in the impassioned track. Between the morning/mourning wordplay in the hook and her fiery vocal performance, “Holding Back” thrives on a foundation of urgency that’s one-of-one.

14. “Te Felicito” (Shakira & Rauw Alejandro)

If there’s one thing that’s certain, Shakira will be collecting hits until the end of time. One of the most adaptable pop stars of all time, Shakira’s latest Rauw Alejandro-assisted single “Te Felicito,” is easily one of the best songs of the year so far. A slick blend of slinky post-disco electropop and reggaeton add some color and verve to this biting kiss-off anthem. Between this collaboration and his Bulletin Award-nominated “Party” with Bad Bunny, Rauw is certainly having another banner year. Serving as the lead single to her forthcoming twelfth studio album, “Te Felicito” sets the scene perfectly. Vote for Rauw Alejandro at this year’s Bulletin Awards.

13. “Rent Free” (6LACK)

Don’t let the drama around “Cry For Me” distract you from remembering that 6LACK quietly dropped one of his best songs this year. Released alongside “By Any Means” as a two-pack, "Rent Free” finds 6LACK contemplating spinning the block on an old relationship. With strings from Grandmaster Vic, 6LACK’s heartfelt vocal, and writing credits that feature Leon Thomas III, “Rent Free” finds an anchor in its messy humanity.

12. “If You Want My Love” (Jordan Occasionally)

Shortly after picking up a pair of Bulletin Awards nominations (Favorite TikTok Trending Song & the Rising Star Award), Jordan Occasionally has unleashed “If You Want My Love.” The soaring ballad features some of their best vocals yet with a performance that smartly balances melodrama with sincerity. “'Cause I ain't compromising on my beliefs / So don't let my confidence intimidate you,” they wail in the second verse. The jazzy instrumentation juxtaposed against the choir of backing vocals presents the perfect canvas for Jordan to paint on with passionate belts and riffs. It’s definitely a different vibe from “Lie Lie Lie,” but it’s also definitely a winner. Vote for Jordan Ocassionally at this year’s Bulletin Awards.

11. “Control” (Syd)

Broken Hearts Club, Syd’s sophomore album, didn’t receive the same level of fanfare as her debut solo record, but it’s still a characteristically layered and fulfilling listen. “Control” is an easy standout on the album with its Aaliyah-evoking instrumental and overall tone of soft industrialism, “Control” is at once sexy and cold — much like the concept the song centers itself on. Darkchild’s production is the true jewel of this song, but that’s not to discount Syd’s sensual vocal and the way she wraps each line in gilded submission.

10. “Glimpse Of Us” (Joji)

One of the more popular critiques of streaming during the era’s early days was that the medium had an unfair bias against traditional ballads. Of course, that has been largely dispelled in recent years, but the runaway success of Joji’s “Glimpse of Us” should quell any more doubts. The wistful piano ballad hinges its bets on harmonies that prioritize the lower parts of his range and lyrics that unabashedly yank at the heartstrings (“Tell me he savors your glory / Does he laugh the way I did?”). Musically, “Glimpse of Us” is stripped-back. Tonally. however, it’s a dramatic song — there’s an interpolation of Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” for crying out loud. Nonetheless, Joji’s forlorn vocal and subtle runs at the end of every other line truly sell that drama and make it something tangible.

9. “Plan B” (Megan Thee Stallion)

Megan Thee Stallion closed out 2021 with the release of her Something for Thee Hotties compilation and opened 2022 with a Grammy nomination (Best Rap Performance for “Thot Shit”) and a bubbly Dua Lipa collaboration (“Sweetest Pie”). Little did we know, however, that “Plan B” would be the real kicker. After surprising Weekend One Coachella attendees with the fiery 90s East Coast-inspired anthem, Megan released “Plan B” on all DSPs. “Plan B” is Meg’s best song since Fever, she rips through the Hitmaka beat with snarls that come from the depth of her heart as she lambasts an ex-lover throughout the track. It’s simultaneously a return to form and a peek into the direction for her forthcoming sophomore album. Megan really raps. Let “Plan B” serve as the last reminder. Vote for Megan Thee Stallion at this year’s Bulletin Awards.

8. “Bruises” (Jordan Rakei)

Serving as the lead single for his EP of the same name, “Bruises” is a sonic feast. Steeped in reggae rhytms and peppered with self-written string arrangements, “Bruises” finds Jordan blending nearly every facet of his vast artistic profile into one pithy track. His fluttery falsetto floats above the track and adds an air of levity to counterbalance the earthiness of the song’s production. “We fight fires of pain / For saving face / Dreaming of a yesterday / Oh, to the edge of fate,” he croons on the sublime post-chorus. “Bruises” didn’t touch a single major music chart, but it’s still a more pleasing listen than most of the year’s output.

7. “This Hell” (Rina Sawayama)

It feels like Rina Sawayama dropped her transcendent debut album yesterday, but she’s already in the thick of the campaign for her forthcoming sophomore record Hold The Girl. Introduced by the rollicking country-inflected “This Hell,” the album is sure to be a worthy follow-up to her stunning debut. Rina combines notes of Shania Twain and Avril Lavigne into a tongue-in-cheek hymn celebrating her queerness in the face of everything the world does to rebuke it. The pop culture references are still as smart and as tasteful as ever, but it’s the faint twang that Rina employs throughout the track that really brings the song to another level. It doesn’t get better than Rina.

6. “Cash In Cash Out” (Pharrell Williams, 21 Savage & Tyler, The Creator)

Between Pharrell’s hot streak of fantastic production credits (“MOTOMAMI”; “In Your Eyes”), 21’s unfaltering feature run (“Jimmy Cooks”; “Wheelie”), and Tyler’s Grammy-winning year, the “Cash In Cash Out” trio didn’t have to go so hard. But, thankfully, they did. “Cash In Cash Out” triumphs because the artists expertly balance Pharrell’s gritty minimalist production with Tyler and 21’s braggadocious maximalist verses. 21 raps, “I put Chanel on my feet / European model got Chanel on my seats / Put me in a third world country in the middle of the slums / I'ma turn it to a million dollar street.” Moreover, both artists play to their strengths with their different approaches to humor; 21 goes for blunt delivery while Tyler constructs the punchlines in front of our eyes. Hopefully, this leads to a full-length project from Pharrell. Vote for Tyler, The Creator at this year’s Bulletin Awards.

5. “Persuasive” (Doechii)

The female rap renaissance is still in high gear, and Doechii is poised to be the next mainstream breakout from that movement. On “Persuasive,” TDE’s newest member foreshadows the manic energy of “Crazy” with a house-inflected self-empowerment anthem. “How does it feel to be that-that bitch? / How does it feel to let, let-let go,” she chants over the Kal Banx production. “Persuasive,” Doechii’s major label debut single, lays bare her ethos: empowerment, realness, and love in every sense of the word. She shifts through Lil Wayne references and Azealia Banks interpolations with ease, but she never loses her own essence in this whirlwind of a track. Vote for Doechii at this year’s Bulletin Awards.

4. “Want Want” (Maggie Rogers)

The second single from Maggie’s upcoming sophomore album Surrender is a crossover smash waiting to happen. “Want Want” is a blaring ode to pleasure. Maggie sings, “If you understand that a few years won't erase it / Might die if you can't live just to taste it,” over raucous guitars and drums. Tailor-made for the most pivotal scene in the next coming of age series or movie, “Want Want” captures the same kind of lusty breathless passion that continues to make Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” such a seminal pop record. If the rest of Surrender is even half as addictive as “Want Want,” then we’re in for a real treat.

3. “I’m Tired” (Labrinth & Zendaya)

At this point, let’s make it a tradition. As long as every season of Euphoria comes with a new Labrinth and Zendaya duet, I don’t care how much of Sam Levinson’s shoddy writing I have to sit through. In a stunning reunion following 2019’s beloved Emmy-winning “All for Us,” Lab and Z have done it again with “I’m Tired.” The new track, crafted for the hit HBO series’s second season, leans even further into the gospel influences first teased in “All for Us.” A haunting piano ballad, “I’m Tired,” finds Zendaya gifting us her most vulnerable and nuanced vocal performance yet. With every quiver and sigh, she’s still acting as Rue through her performance in this song. “I’m Tired” condenses the behemoth that is Rue’s endless list of problems into a few minutes of selfless soul-baring and pleading. “I’m Tired” is a sonic experience in every sense of the world. Vote for Labrinth, Zendaya & ‘Euphoria’ at this year’s Bulletin Awards.

2. “BREAK MY SOUL” (Beyoncé)

Have you released your job yet? No? Me neither. Regardless, Beyoncé’s joyous “Break My Soul” is still a massive dancefloor banger and one of the best songs of the year so far. Serving as the lead single for Renaissance, her forthcoming seventh solo studio album, “Break My Soul” chops up NOLA bounce and 90s house for an anthem of resilience and contentment. “I'm takin' my new salvation / And I'ma build my own foundation, yeah,” Queen Bey croons. A musical 180 from the afrobeats of The Gift and the brag-rap of Everything Is Love, “Break My Soul” is Beyoncé at her freest, inviting us all to join her in a new season of inner peace that’s bursting with love at every turn. Vote for Beyoncé at this year’s Bulletin Awards.

1. “Last Last” (Burna Boy)

“Last Last” will probably never touch the Top 5 of the Hot 100, but it will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the biggest and best songs of 2022. It takes real guts and talent to transform Toni Braxton’s “He Wasn’t Man Enough” into a track with a completely different sonic and thematic energy, and Burna Boy has it. “Last Last,” the second single from his blockbuster Love, Damini album, wraps the sample in melancholic bliss. Lyrically, it’s a pretty downcast affair as Burna searches for a way to move on from a sour relationship. When the communal chants of “I need igbo and shayo” come in on the chorus, however, there’s a sense of shared misery that binds people together through the haze of drugs and alcohol. Through the heartbreak, community is formed and love is transformed into one of its myriad formats. “Last Last” is honestly a perfect record that’s unintentionally reflective of the general emotional state of the world. Vote for Burna Boy at this year’s Bulletin Awards.

Honorable Mentions: “Good Morning Gorgeous” (Mary J. Blige); “F.N.F.” (Hitkidd & Glorilla); “Iced Tea” (Joyce Wrice & KAYTRANADA); “Maybe - Live” (Miley Cyrus); “Crazy” (Doechii); “Go Easy, Kid” (Monica Martin & James Blake); “Mind Yo Business” (Lakeyah & Latto); “Chanel Pearls” (Conway the Machine & Jill Scott)

Listen to a playlist of the year’s best songs (so far) on Spotify, Apple Music, and TIDAL.