2022: Intro & Singles
- kevpalowe8
- Mar 23
- 7 min read
Originally posted May 2025
INTRO:
So – this was the last year that video streaming was not included in general chart. I didn’t suspect this was have a major bearing on the chart. I did wonder if it had something to do with the success of some numbers from “Wicked” in 2024. However, there were some similarly (in fact, even more so) successful numbers from “Encanto” in 2022 that evidences otherwise. In fact, this was one of the key years that demonstrated how the inclusion of audio streaming impacts the chart. Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”, originally a #3 hit, reached the top of the chart 38 years after its release following its use in the massively popular series “Stranger Things”. It was the 7th most successful track of the year in the singles chart. Ed Sheeran performed well but Harry Styles claimed the #1 of 2022 with “As It Was”. On the whole, I thought this was quite a poor year. I tried to theorise why that may be. I remembered reading an article, by some DJ or other, about how Covid had changed music output. We live in an age where music can be made in our bedrooms. However, for the most part this will be producers using samples, beats etc, perhaps adding a new keyboard tune or having a guest vocalist sing – which can also easily be done remotely. This is done often in any case. But during Covid it was, at times, the ONLY option. I did spot a lot of these types of tracks during the 2022 playlists. So, I wondered if that had something to do with it. I’ll come back to this at the end of part 2. Oh, I also cheated a bit for this year. See below.
ANY I DIDNT LIKE:
Luude & Colin Hay “Down Under”
I’m usually OK when there’s a dancy/drum ‘n’ bassy version of a classic. For me, this is an example of it NOT really working, though.
Chris Brown “Under The Influence”
THE ‘M'EH’ LIST”:
Aitch & Ashanti “Baby”
David Guetto & Bebe Rexha “I'm Good”
...... I dont really see the point of this. As in – why not just cover the original? Don’t get it.
Burna Boy “Last Last”
Jack Harlow “First Class”
Lewis Capaldi “Forget Me”
Bad Boy Killer Crew “BMW”
Future, Drake & Tems “WAIT FOR U”
Lauren Spencer Smith “Fingers Crossed”
Justin Bieber “Ghost”
James Hype & Miggy Dela Rosa “Ferrari”
GOOD BUT NOT TOP TEN CONTENDERS:
Harry Styles “As It Was”
Fireboy DML & Ed Sheeran “Peru”
Belters Only & Jazzy “Make Me Feel Good”
Dave “Starlight”
Jax Jones & MNEK “Where Did You Go?”
Gayle “abcdefu”
Lizzo “About Damn Time”
David Guetto & Becky Hill “Crazy What Love Can Do”
Harry Styles “Late Night Talking”
D-Block Europe & Central Cee “Overseas”
Toin Wayne & La Roux “IFTK”
Tate McRae “she’s all i wanna be”
Tiësto & Ava Max “Motto”
Mimi Webb “House On Fire”
Sam Ryder “SPACE MAN”
SwitchOTR & A1 x J1 “Coming For You”
TOP TEN CONTENDERS:
Ed Sheeran “Bad Habits”
I like it. I think its the keyboard ostinato (riff/figure/whatever) more than anything else.
Lost Frequencies & Calum Scott “Where Are You Now”
There’s a genius to this. The chorus has the line ‘you’re like my favourite song going round round my head’. And after a few listens..... guess what happens? So it must be your favourite song, right?
LF SYSTEM “Afraid To Feel”
There’s something about this track. I think its that everything sounds slightly wrong. There’s the sample of Silk’s “I Can’t Stop” that is slightly sped up. But despite the fact it sounds electronic rather than performed by a live band (well..... the original obviously is), the tempo is pulled around (yet remaining at pitch (so not slowed down/sped up per se). So it’s all wrong....... and it works. Brilliant.
Stephanie Beatriz, Rhenzy Feliz, Adassa, Diane Guerrero, Carolina Gaitán & Mauro
Castillo “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”
I’ve never seen “Encanto” but it seems I must want to. A few of the numbers from that film streamed really well and they’re all really good. This one’s my favourite.
OneRepublic “I Ain’t Worried”
I can’t work out if this track would be any good if it weren’t for the whistling bit. Anyone? But it DOES have the listening bit. So case closed.
Eliza Rose “B.O.T.A”
Probably a surprise that I would rate something like this so highly. It is great. The jaunty keyboard figure against the more atmospheric string backdrop draws me in. I love the way although it sounds like that repeated vocal is the chorus is simply spoken, it is actually at temporal pitch. So the 1st 3 repetitions of ‘baddest of them all’ are notes 7 and 5 of the scale. The final line resolves upwards using notes 7 then I at the top end of the scale. I enjoy this kind of half spoken /half sung effect. In massive contrast to this track, Johnny Rotten actually used to do it.
Steve Lacy “Bad Habit”
I wasn’t actually even that keen on this track until towards the end. The instruments fade as it the song is ending – leaving the vocal harmonies behind. This gives way to a solo a capella section of new material. Then the vocals offer yet more new material with the entry off an acoustic guitar playing fairly jazz-based chords. When the beat comes back in – it’s different, giving the track a somewhat different feel than before. Suddenly..... I love it.
Imagine Dragons, JID, Arcane & League of Legends “Enemy”
I mean – its just a banging track, no? Of course my favourite bit it “my enemy – ee – ee – ee – ee”.
Sunflower Thieves “I Don’t Know Why”
Now. This is why my cheating begins. This is an unsigned act I knew quite well. I discovered them playing live at the Chainmakers Festival in 2016 and have followed them ever since. Including that, I’ve seen them live 3 times in total, once with Simon Ore. Here’s one of their offerings. It’s one of their more understated tracks (even for them....... they never get wild), although it uses some brass which is unusual for them and adds an interesting dimension.
Top 3:
3. Cat Burns “go”
Immediately, this song is attractive due to its lack of beat-track, which makes it stand out from the crowd. There’s a nice a mix of gospel/soul and indie elements behind a ‘down to Earth’ vocal, which I attribute to her singing with her authentic vernacular rather than most singer’s practice of adopting a ‘stage voice’. Its a break-up song, but one of those that’s full of self-worth rather than self-pity. I imagine this had something to do with its popularity (because its not an obvious hit). I realised too late to think about changing everything that, while this was a big hit in 2022, its original release date was 2020.
2.Sam Smith & Kim Petras “Unholy”
This is a great track. The heavy use of chromaticism is not unknown for a pop track but fairly unusual. Traditionally, in western tonal music it’s been used to depict a number of things. Occasionally sadness. Probably most often to convey a sense of ‘The Other’ (as in ‘Eastern’ or ‘unknown’). But, also quite often general tension, sexuality, or evil. I’ll lean towards sexual and evil here (the implication being that the two are related). The evil aspect is fairly clear. ‘Unholy’. And the use of the choir. The ‘unholy’ thing is sexual. This is within the lyric although there are other musical signals. One would be the throbbing repetitiveness of the bass....... or you might argue that’s clutching at straws because that’s common in pop music............ but pop music being linked to sex is also common......... so it still works.......... although it might not be worth mentioning in comparison to anything else......... or it might be
1. Sunflower Thieves “Lichtenberg Figures”
My favourite one of the year and my fav by these ladies. Simon tends to go for “Grown Out Of You” which was also 2022 so check that out too. That’s an unusual one for them as the music (but not the lyric) is upbeat. This one is also unusual as it has a bigger ‘production’ than they tend to go for. It captures the potential beauty of song-writing and recoding for me. There’s nothing massively remarkable in their groundwork. Its basically song structure. It all falls well within the rule of western tonal language. The lyric is a ‘if you get knocked down, get back up again’ sentiment that we hear in pop music time and time again.
But!!!!! The Sunflower Thieves concoct it all with just a little pinch of style that’s so intricate and elegant that I’m genuinely in awe listen after listen. Although I say the music is standard, they add that little bit of extra backdrop than they usually do that lifts it off the ground. But it doesn’t go too far..... there’s no 2nd repeat of the chorus at the end with full orchestra or anything. In the verses as they tell the story, they sing in unison (and at a low register) to a very basic melody packed with rapid syllables – sort of like they are just talking to you – telling the story – matter of fact. They split into harmony for the chorus, with a more shapely melody that contains extended notes and pauses as they move from telling the story to contemplating the philosophy behind it.
And then the lyric. As I say, it’s a fairly familiar subject matter. And the ‘getting knocked down’ is as literal as it can be. Struck by lightning. But the Thieves add all this colour to it. Singing about the patterns left behind, extra-terrestrial life, and nightmares. And the line ‘you might think you’ve nothing left........ but there’s magic in the wounds’ gets me. Every. Single. Time.
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