Discovered in 2019 Playlist

2019… The end of an entire decade… Wow, time really does fly! I will, of course, be making a music of the decade playlist, but until then, here we go! These are going to be my top 5 songs I discovered this year, and my top 5 artists of the year. The songs are not in any specific order. The artist list is based on my Spotify stats!.

Top 5 Songs of 2019:

1. Pictures by ECÂF

Australian singer Ruel posted a shout-out to ECÂF on Twitter in July of this year. He also posted several shout-outs to the mystery singer on Instagram, asking for people to follow her and keep an eye out for her music. This, of course, was when ECÂF was faceless. In the beginning, ECÂF was just a voice, then a face, a random face, that had previously never been seen. Ruel revealed after the debut single “Pictures” was released, that ECÂF is actually his younger sister, Coco’s vocals with his own backing vocals on a lower octave. The face of the character, Tatianna, was totally random, handpicked by Ruel and Coco themselves. They flew Tatianna out to Paris, France, did a major photoshoot with multiple outfits and created her social media. ECÂF’s name is “FACE” backwards, and her debut song, “Pictures” was a song written years before by Ruel that he felt was too far from his comfort zone to release under his own name.

2. 16 by Highly Suspect

16, Highly Suspect’s newest Billboard chart topper, is an emotional plot twist. This song talks about the young love of frontman, Johnny Stevens, and an ex-partner of his. This track starts with talking about how easy it was to love this person and how hurtful the relationship ending really was. The plot twist hits in the second verse, when Stevens signs about how excited he and his partner were for their firstborn child, a daughter. They were both looking forward to this baby, but when the woman gives birth, he notices that the baby is not the same race as he is. In this song, both parents are white, and the baby is obviously mixed race. The pain conveyed in the song writes out the fact that the woman had cheated and carried another man’s child. This, of course, was heartbreaking, and was likely the reason for his hiatus in real life, from social media and touring.

3. Valentino by 24kGoldn

If you don’t know Valentino by now, you need to catch up with the trends! Valentino was made popular by the popular social app, Tiktok. Tiktok is an app that allows its users to create 15 to 60 second videos of them lipsyncing, dancing, talking, etc. Valentino became popular and eventually went viral among users for its player or ‘e-thot’ (the female version of a player) vibe. One Tiktok user specifically, AvivaSofia, helped the track gain traction with her viral dance she videoed in tight outfits. The song is catchy and easy to memorize. The dance is also super easy and fun to do!

4. Wait, Stay by Emarosa

Emarosa’s 2019 album, Peach Club, is by far their best, in my opinion. I loved their old sound, but this song has a new, unique sound and feeling to it. The song is slower and is a little sadder, depending on how you interpret it. Wait, Stay is about being good enough, or not good enough for someone that you love.

5. Hotel Room by Lauren Sanderson

This wouldn’t be a 2019 list without Lauren Sanderson! Sanderson is new to the rap/pop scene, seeing as she previously was a motivational speaker. She is openly LGBT+, and is very open with her ideals. Hotel Room is an upbeat masterpiece about just hanging out. She talks about what you’d be in for if you agreed to come back to her hotel room and spend the night with her. The twist, though, is that it isn’t sexual! It’s pure, lovely friendship! The super catchy chorus talks about drinking and smoking and giving each other tattoos. The song does take a turn, though, when Sanderson mentions that she has to leave, to tour again, and she’ll be away for a while. All of Lauren Sanderson’s music is amazing, and she’s definitely my favorite discovery of 2019!

Top 5 Artists of 2019:

1. Lauren Sanderson

Lauren, as I said above, is my favorite discovery and my Spotify reflects that, unsurprisingly. I actually spent a week listening to all of her music, and only her music on repeat, which is embarrassing in retrospect. Her music ranges from upbeat and cocky to slow and sad, and has something for everyone. She speaks the truth with no regrets, ever, and I respect that.

2. The Wrecks

The Wrecks, who I discovered early on in 2019, are a great upbeat “F the system” vibed band. Their music is reckless and unapologetic, which is something that I love. I love artists that say what they want, when they want and don’t apologize for their opinions.

3. Dead Poet Society

Dead Poet Society are a new band with an edgy, Billie Eilish-esque sound. They use sound effects for a more horror-ish sound in some of their songs. Their vocalist has an amazing voice, and can hold a note considerably well for a male voice. Each song is so different and so catchy that I’ve fallen in love!

4. HIM

HIM is an older band, one that formed in 1991 and officially broke up in 2017. I’ve been a huge fan of theirs for years, and their music never gets old. They have a very rock sound, with their music being about love and other pop music topics. They even had a name for their genre, which was Love Metal. They were extremely popular in most countries other than their home country of Finland, but eventually gained popularity there, too.

5. Badflower

Badflower is on the rise with rock fans, and recently had huge success with a song about suicide, called Ghost. Their music isn’t as edgy, really, as it is angry. The music covers heavy topics, such as molestation, death, suicide, murder, stalking, politics, animal rights, and drugs. Their newest album, Ok, I’m Sick, was a huge hit with all of its songs being about different topics than what’s being talked about in music these days.

Hopefully you'll enjoy these songs and artists as much as I do!