Today marks the last day of the year—December 31st.
As we get ready to say goodbye to 2024, let’s take a moment to reflect on the songs that filled our year. Which tracks stood out the most? Which ones became our favorites? Have you heard these songs yet? Let’s celebrate the music that made 2024 memorable and get ready to welcome the new year with a bang!
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Participating in one of the most iconic rap battles in history and emerging with a chart-topping hit is the ultimate victory lap. Kendrick Lamar claimed his with “Not Like Us,” a track that not only defined 2024 but also cemented itself as one of the most unforgettable diss records of all time. If success is the sweetest revenge, Lamar certainly tasted it. The song became a massive hit and put the spotlight back on the West Coast, proving the power of a single track to resonate across borders. While doubting Kendrick is a common pastime for critics, they were wasting their time in this case—Lamar delivered a blow that spoke louder than any keyboard warrior’s words.
Sabrina Carpenter – “Please Please Please”
It seemed nearly impossible for Sabrina Carpenter to top the success of “Espresso,” a track that everyone was eager to let linger in the air. Yet, against all odds, “Please Please Please” came along and not only replaced it but also surpassed it. (Though you may still consider them tied.) In an insightful Variety video, producer and co-writer Jack Antonoff described the song as one that “sounds like the heavens opening up,” and remarkably, it resonates that way for us too. Antonoff’s comparison to ELO and ABBA is spot on, with the lush vocal layers and synths perfectly aligning. However, it’s Carpenter’s unique persona that truly defines the track. The song’s lyrics explore a private, emotional turmoil rather than any lofty ideal, as the singer navigates a relationship on the brink of collapse. In a moment of vulnerability, she urges her boyfriend to avoid embarrassing himself at a party, with a sharp threat that reveals she’s reaching her breaking point. Despite its brief length, this mini-masterpiece transforms her discomfort into our pure bliss.
Chappell Roan – “Good Luck, Babe!”
Chappell Roan’s Grammy-nominated breakthrough track, “Good Luck, Babe!” is a perfectly crafted synth-pop anthem. While it’s often seen as a queer pop classic, the song speaks to anyone who’s survived a tumultuous “situationship.” Roan channels her anger and heartbreak, starting from a place of dreamy optimism that gradually turns into a raw, heart-stirring resignation. With the echoing line, “You’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling,” Roan captures the universal experience of emotional release.
Taylor Swift – “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”
In 2024, Taylor Swift’s image as America’s sweetheart—thanks to her family-friendly Eras Tour and frequent NFL appearances—made it easy to forget her darker side. But with “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” she reminded us of her capacity for sharp, witchy defiance. The track, which became a standout in her live show’s “Female Rage: The Musical” segment, is a throwback to the paranoia and defensiveness that characterized her Reputation era—a welcome return to form. What does she have to be angry about? Well, for many women in 2024, the reasons are endless. Swift has long been a target for conservative critics and haters, and in this track, she takes ownership of the fear she instills in them. With eerie, offbeat lines like “Don’t you worry, folks, we took out all her teeth,” Swift owns her villainous reputation. The reference to “I levitate down your street” even gave the Eras Tour’s production team the chance to create a truly magical illusion. Swift remains the epitome of mainstream success, yet this quirky track proves she’s determined to stay weird. Boo!
Ariana Grande – “Ordinary Things”
Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine album is filled with reflections on the end of her marriage and her new relationship. By the time we reach the final track, “Ordinary Things,” it feels like a moment of clarity. Grande’s exploration of romance has led to some of the best pop music of our time, and “Ordinary Things” stands out as one of the most sincere. This horn-infused, reflective track looks at the simplicity and beauty of the honeymoon phase, where material things and time spent together feel like the true essence of love. “We could spend every dime, but I don’t want anything but more time,” she sings, capturing the fleeting nature of romance and the human need to hold onto it.
Dua Lipa – “Whatcha Doing”
Critics often jump on albums that don’t perform as well as a superstar’s previous release, but Radical Optimism was likely one of the most underrated albums of the year. While tracks like “Houdini” or “Training Season” didn’t quite hit the mark, “Whatcha Doing” is a perfect example of what makes Lipa great—pure, unfiltered joy, with a hint of disco. It should’ve been a global hit, and in my mind, it was. This track, with its celebratory energy, is exactly what I turn to when I need a boost. While there are other great tracks on the album (“French Exit” and “End of an Era”), “Whatcha Doing” is the go-to cure for any winter blues.
Billie Eilish – “The Greatest”
Among the standout tracks on Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft album, “The Greatest” rises to the top. The title is laden with irony, as the song’s lyrics convey regret and shame about a failed relationship. Eilish reflects on her efforts to infuse passion into a relationship that didn’t live up to expectations. Under Finneas’ direction, the song builds to an intense crescendo before landing in an a cappella conclusion. The vulnerability in lyrics like “All the times I waited / For you to want me naked” highlights the emotional void of not being desired, adding a raw layer to Eilish’s signature honesty. A track that might make you say, “Wow, she’s good.”
Jack White, ‘It’s Rough on Rats (If You’re Asking)’
We weren’t actually asking, Jack, but now that you raise the issue… how are current world affairs affecting our friends in the rat population? While I’m not sure his advocacy has changed my position on the critters running through my walls, I can sympathize with them for four minutes in the service of hearing some choice slide guitar running through my speakers, and in an aggro, not especially rootsy way. His No Name album is so consistently strong from start to finish that it’s challenging to elevate any one song over another: They just about all represent him taking a Led Zep or Sabbath approach to classic guitar riffing, but boiled down into numbers that begin and end with the efficiency of a pop song. But when it comes to him breaking out the bottleneck, we can’t let an opportunity to extol that particular brand of guitar genius just slide.
Clairo, ‘Juna’
The sweet and velvety percussion of Juna makes it one of many standout tracks on Clairo’s Grammy-nominated album Charm. The album signaled a level-up for the singer-songwriter, but Juna found a dedicated following of its own, surprising even its creator with its popularity amongst jazz-lounge fans. Masked in fuzzy synths, and oozing perfumed confessions, Juna is heavenly-sounding from start to finish, sustaining itself on a fluffy bed of keys and, at one point, mouth trumpets.
Kacey Musgraves, ‘The Architect’
Agnostic country: it’s a thing. In this earnest but deeply felt and more deeply philosophizing ballad, Musgraves is struck by the idea of what kind of divine guiding hand might be behind the wonders of the world, from natural splendor all the way down to the miracle of an apple, or a newfound love that has just entered her life. But she can’t help but counterbalance that with thoughts of injustice and tragedy and question a Creator’s role, if any. (The theologians would refer to this as a theodicy, although Musgraves isn’t about to introduce any 50-cent words here.) “Can I speak to the architect? Is there an architect?” she finally wonders at song’s end. This Grammy-nominated tune is a God song that no one’s going to be singing in youth group, but some of the kids may hum on their own time, since it so beautifully encapsulates the questions believers and non alike have to grapple with. (For another great new Musgraves song that brings up the veil between this world and the next, check out the arguably even more moving Dinner With Friends.)